Companion
by ekourege
Summary: For the first eight years of Naruto's life, he was completely and utterly alone. When Naruto entered his apartment, no one welcomed his arrival. No one came home to see him after a long day of work, and he didn't have a single friend. Contact with people was sporadic, and ultimately, loneliness was his only constant companion. Then, Naruto isn't alone anymore.
1. Rain is NOT conducive to tree climbing

Title: Companion

Rating: T

Summary: For the first eight years of Naruto's life, he was completely and utterly alone. When Naruto entered his apartment, no one welcomed his arrival. No one came home to see him after a long day of work, and he didn't have a single friend. Contact with people was sporadic, and ultimately, loneliness was his only constant companion.

Then, Naruto isn't alone anymore. He's still an orphan, still hated by the village at large and without a friend, but he's not alone, even if his companion isn't even human.

* * *

Naruto was soaked. Midway through his run to the grocers, it had started to rain. The downpour made his jacket cling heavily to his wet skin, his blonde hair laying flat against his face as he ran through the streets, all the while cursing the weather and lamenting his lack of an umbrella. Naruto really should've known it would rain today–he always seemed to be aware of that sort of thing–but he'd ignored it, his mind more focused on the emptiness of his cabinets and the last of his ramen stash finished off.

Most people would have gone back home–or in Naruto's case: grabbed their child by the hand and ushered them all back home–but Naruto was not most people, and he'd move mountains if it fed his budding ramen addiction. So, despite the uncomfort of his wet clothing and the judging looks the villagers gave him, glaring harshly at him from the safety of the indoors, Naruto marched on, pelting through the streets with his arms crossed over his head. They were essentially useless, rain simply dripping down his arms, but it was instinctive, and Naruto made the attempt anyway.

He would duck into ichiraku's but… he's a bit low on ramen money at the moment, and he'd feel bad if he conned them out of more free ramen, as old-man Teuchi told him that they'd lost some of their customers recently. So, grocery shopping and store-bought ramen it was.

Naruto tore through the streets, kicking up mud and rainwater. The store he was aiming for was nearly in his sights, lying just up ahead. The boy ducked under a tree, one of the few to be able to somehow thrive between hard rock and wooden buildings, before a pitiful sound stopped him in his tracks. Naruto skidded to a stop, backpedaling until he was once again under the tree.

"Eh? Hey, anyone there?" Naruto called, stepping forward to investigate the area.

Naruto heard the sound again, though this time it seemed to have… doubled? Naruto circled the base of the tree, looking for any obvious holes in it. Finding none, Naruto creeps into the alley the tree was shielding from view, finding nothing but bits of debris and a single broken bottle.

The noise gets louder, obviously coming from the tree, and Naruto goes to stand under the tree again, scratching his head with furrowed eyebrows.  
 _'Where's it even coming from?'_ Naruto thought, frustrated.

One of the branches above the boys head rustled, and Naruto finally looked up into the waxy canopy.

...Only for a droplet of rainwater to nail him in the eye. The boy lurched backward, curling inwards slightly as a hand rose up to furiously rub at the rainwater burn his eye. Naruto yelped, the flare of pain making him hiss, and Naruto was left trying to blink the water out of his eye, now tender from being rubbed at too hard.

This time, Naruto looked up slowly, hesitating out of fear of getting more water in his eyes. In the tree, looking just as drowned as Naruto was, were five kittens all nestled in different spots in the tree, sitting aloft the branches. The one closest to the ground mewls at him, tiny claws flexing as it struggles to navigate the branch it was perched on, shaking pitifully.

Naruto frowns, face scrunching. There were five kittens that Naruto could see, but no mother. Naruto did a headcount, searching for an adult cat that was hopefully hidden somewhere up in the tree. He found nothing, only five waterlogged kittens, scrambling among the branches with too-then claws and too-weak limbs.

Where could she be? Didn't she know it was raining and her kittens were getting wet? Ducking back into the alley, Naruto cupped his hands over his mouth, calling out into the shaded path.

"Hello? Your kittens are stuck in a tree! They're getting wet! Hello?"

Nothing, only the sound of the rain as it hit the ground replied.

Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking. He then crouched down, trying for a different tactic. "Here kitty kitty! C'mere kitty!" Naruto sang, repeating the phrase with slight variations.

Again, not a mewl, growl, meow, or a hiss from a cat responded, so Naruto pulled himself up from his crouch with a shrug. _'Guess she isn't here.'_ Naruto frowned, stepping back under the tree.

Naruto couldn't say he didn't sympathize with the creatures. After all, Naruto himself was in a similar situation, where he was really without the care of a parent of some sort, left to weather the world all on his own.

As Naruto stands under the canopy, water dripping onto his face as he ponders over what to do with the kittens, as he can't just leave them there-that would be cruel!- one of the kittens slips, paws scrabbling for foothold it wouldn't get.

It falls, shrieking and flailing.

Naruto's eyes widen, and the boy lurches forward, hands splayed out as he clumsily catches it in his hands. It mewls angrily at him, quivering, and Naruto sighs in relief, only to yelp as the kitten hisses at him, catching his skin tiny claws at it swats at him. Naruto very quickly sets the kitten on the ground, flinching as water gets into the scratches, causing a burning sensation.

The boy glares at the kitten as it runs off, the feline sprinting away into the nearby alley.

Naruto glances up balefully into the tree, before pushing up his sopping-wet sleeves and attempting to help the others.

Naruto grabs the kitten on one of the lowest branches first, keeping it tucked into his chest with one hand, while the other was used to cling and navigate along the branches. He refused to let go, even as the small animal bit and scratched at him, angry that he was impudent enough to even touch it.

Animals never really did like him.

Naruto carefully climbed back down, unlatching himself from the tree. The kitten, which during the climb had clung with all it's might to his jacket between fits of aggression, digging its claws into his skin, had a sudden change of heart, and instead pried itself from Naruto's grasp, trailing after its sibling into the darkened alleyway.

Naruto does the same for the next two, climbing higher and higher up each time to retrieve the frightened felines, only to be battered with tiny paws and gain an increasing number of scratches on his face, next, and along his hands. They do the same as the first two: flounce off into the alley, hissing and growling at Naruto until he lets them go.

 _'Sheesh, what ungrateful jerks.'_ Naruto thinks, huffing.

Naruto peers up into the tree a final time, crying to soothe his irritated hands down by wiping them on his pants, which had been rubbed raw from his excursions up the tree.

 _'Jeez…'_ Naruto muses, exasperated, _'how'd you even get up that high?'_

There's one kitten still stuck in the tree, mewling down at him from its precarious position. Naruto grits his teeth in preparation for what will be a painful climb, coming with even more scratches, hands blistered and raw, on top of the absolute hatred he will surely receive from the animal he was merely trying to save.

The boy puts one shoe up against the trunk of the tree, scuffing against the bark, and reaches up with the hand opposite to his foot to grasp a thick lower branch. Naruto twists his body, swinging his other onto that same branch. Using his feet to push off the trunk, Naruto strains his arms in an effort to haul himself up onto the branch. With his dangling legs flailing about, Naruto uses the momentum to gain a foothold, bringing his legs up and onto the branch one at a time.

Naruto, now firmly above ground and in the tree, makes for the next branch, and clumsily climbs up the tree, spluttering as he is whacked in the face by stray twigs and leaves that snap back and hit him as he tries fruitlessly to push them aside.

The meowing gets louder and more frantic the further up Naruto goes.

The boy laughs triumphantly as he reaches the cat, happy that this was almost over and that soon he'd be able to resume his trip to the grocers, and arrive home to his apartment, where he'd be able to dry himself off and change into something warmer and crack into some newly-bought ramen.

Naruto released one of the branches he was holding onto, freeing up one of his hands. He braces himself for new sets of scratches and bite marks, then swiftly snatches the kitten from the back, its tiny frame small enough for even hands of Naruto's size to fit around it completely. He's prepared for hissing and indignation, but none of that comes. Instead, Naruto is confronted with only a small meow, eyes as round as saucers.

Shocked, Naruto pauses, simply staring at the thing with a faintly budding hope, eyes shining when the kitten makes no move to turn on him. It was a dirty thing, long tufts of fur tangled and muddy to the point where Naruto couldn't really make out the exact fur pattern. Though, he could make out that it was a black and white cat of some sort. And going by its face, which had a strip of black along the forehead, spanning along its ears, and a single spot of black across its nose.

It was… kind of cute. As long as it wasn't attempting to claw his eyes out, that was. At this point, Naruto is not sure he would take the betrayal of this cat (an animal that _likes_ him!) all that well. It's the ones that manage to worm their way into his heart that hurt him the most, Naruto knows.

Regardless, Naruto had to focus less on the kitten's intentions, and more on rescuing it from the stupid tree. So again, Naruto tucked the kitten close, shifting his grip so it was tucked into his neck, Naruto cushioning it with his hand. Then, with the final cat secured, he started his descent down to the ground. The tree was slippery from all the rain, branches slick with rainwater and making it more difficult to retain a steady hold on anything. Knowing this from his previous climbs, Naruto made sure that he was grabbing onto the thickest branches he could on the way.

However, when Naruto was nearing the lower half of the tree, his foot slipped. His sandal slid over the surface of the branch below, and instead of steadying him and setting Naruto up for his next climb, it only destabilized him. Naruto's hand released its grip on the trunk by instinct, and Naruto found himself tipping backward.

Naruto then found himself falling straight out of the tree.

He hits the ground with a heavy thump, the impact knocking the air out of his lungs and leaving him breathless and gasping. Naruto groaned in pain, dizzy from his brain being rattled around in his skull. Caught up in his pain until a small wail of pain erupted from under him.

"Oh crap!" Naruto shouted, scrambling clumsily to his knees, swaying slightly. The kitten he had attempted to rescue had fallen with him! What if he killed it during his fall?! Naruto shakes his head, trying to clear up the last of the dizziness, and looks down at the small (fragile, thin, _easily damaged_ ) animal before him, his heart caught in his throat.

The kitten's leg is bent awkwardly, clearly broken.

...It's broken. The fall had broken its leg.

Naruto had broken its leg. He had injured it- something that liked him, that had trusted him to save it from the tree.

He'd hurt it. He really was bad, wasn't he? Couldn't even get a cat out of a tree without messing it up. Naruto knew he had to do something, he'd have to make it up to it somehow, have to heal the kitten in someway.

Naruto hesitates to take any action. He's already screwed things up enough, hasn't he? He could just… leave the kitten alone. He should just set it into the alley, where it'll at least be protected from being trampled by pedestrians. Naruto should just… get it away from him, before he could do any more damage.

The cat meows again, clearly in pain as it attempts to get to its feet, again and again, falling back down to the ground each and every time.

It's cold outside, the weather was nasty and harsh, it was why Naruto had been running to the store to the first place, why even now rain pelted both cat and child without mercy. It was raining, the streets were muddy. The kitten has a broken leg.

...If Naruto left the kitten out here, in the rain, it would probably die. He couldn't even fathom doing that, of abandoning it. So, with that realization, Naruto firmly shook his previous line of thought from his head. There was no use in letting the villagers get to him, he'd stayed strong against it up until now, and he wouldn't let it affect him to the point where he'd just let something (abandoned and alone and injured, just as Naruto was) die because Naruto doubted himself.

Dread fills Naruto, infecting his veins with emotional poison, and turning his lungs to ice. Naruto tears up for a moment, face scrunching in an attempt to hold back a panicked sob. The boy frantically shucks off his jacket, practically peeling off of his skin. Naruto, on bruised knees, goes to scoop the injured animals into his arms.

It flinches as he picks it up, letting out a small wail of pain in response to the pressure on its leg. Tiny, but sharp claws dig into the jacket, clinging for dear life to the soiled fabric as Naruto wraps the jacket securely around the kitten and picks it up.

All thoughts of ramen and shopping are erased from his mind, Naruto instead clutching the jacket-wrapped kitten close to his chest, spins on his heel, and hightails it back to his apartment, leaning his head forward to shield the kitten from the rain as much as he could. Though stray droplets of rainwater still dripped from his hair and down his face, and the rain continued to beat down on them both in thick sheets.

* * *

Naruto slams open the door to his apartment, making the flimsy walls shake with the force of his entrance. There are tears running down his face, mixing with the rainwater and falling in big fat globs down onto the worn wooden floor of his apartment. Naruto's a mess, nose stuffy from being in the rain too long in soiled clothing, combined with accumulated snot from crying. Naruto hiccups, breath shuddering as Naruto struggles to breathe through his sobs, teary eyes leaking from all the guilt he was experience-maybe they were right about him-only crying harder when the kitten sporadically wails in pain, shying away from Naruto's attempts to console it. The crying boy quickly plods over to his bed, leaving a trail of wet, muddy footprints behind him.

Naruto sets the wet bundle onto his bed, unwrapping the kitten from his jacket. The boy tosses the clothing off of the bed, sending it skidding across the floor with a slap.

The kitten is shivering fiercely, every inch of its tiny form quaking from the cold. It's taken to attempting to hide its injured leg under itself, looking uncomfortable and miserable.

"Ya must be cold." Naruto blurts, startling the kitten as Naruto roves his eyes around the room, searching for a warm blanket, or a dry towel of some sort. There's a couple in the bathroom, Naruto knows, tucked sloppily into a rack above the toilet. So, with clunky footsteps, Naruto opens the door to the cramped space, forcefully pulling the towels off the rack, tucking them under his arm, and returning to his bed where the kitten rests.

Naruto carefully picks the injured animal up, using both hands to grab the kitten. He winces when the kitten whimpers in agony due to Naruto's hands pushing up against the injury as he cradles it in clammy hands, but powers through the urge to drop the kitten, instead placing it gently onto one of the towels, using the extra towel to clumsily dry its fur. It smells awful, of wet fur, mud, and outdoor stink, but Naruto can't find it in himself to really care. It's not like Naruto has any room to talk, anyway. He hated showering.

The boy ignores his own plight, pointedly overlooking the onset of sickness as teeth-chattering shivers break out, cold water dripping from his hair, collecting in beads at the tips of clumpy strands. Previously spiked hair now limp and weighed down.

And why was it that Naruto's head felt hot, but his fingers felt so _cold_?

Naruto shakes his head, even as the movement makes him feel a tad dizzy, choosing instead to focus on the matter at hand: what to do about the leg. Naruto was no doctor, he knew no first aid, or how to even properly deal with animals. He'd never really been confronted with having to worry about anyone else's injuries other than his own. After all, even when he skinned his knee and started to cry, no one came to help him, so Naruto simply learned to suck it up and deal with it on his own, carefully applying moderate amounts of bandages where Naruto felt it was needed.

Naruto plops down onto the floor beside the bed, rubbing his chin as he pondered what he could do until he could get the old man's help. Naruto could put ice on the leg, but that only works for scratches, fevers, and headaches… and he has no ice in his apartment at the moment. There was also the option of wrapping it… but Naruto thought something was missing from that. Wasn't there something else you were supposed to do when wrapped a broken leg? Like… giving it a support of some kind?

"That's it!" Naruto shouted, "The leg needs somethin' to hold it in place! I'm awesome, all I gotta do is wrap the leg in some sticks and wait for Jiji!" Naruto pushes himself to his feet, rushing into the kitchen and pulling open the cabinet under the sink, revealing some sponges (unused), soap, and a first aid kit. Naruto pulls out the kit, setting it on the counter and unhooking the clasp, peering inside at its contents. Inside is the standard set, a roll of bandages and band-aids, scissors, and masks to cover his face when he got sick, the boy ignored the rest of the items inside, as he had no idea what they did and were therefore useless to him. He plucked the rolls of bandages and the scissors out of the box, closing the lid and tossing it back under the sink before turning to step out of the kitchen and back into the bedroom.

' _Wait. I need sticks. I don't have any of those and it's raining outside! What do I do?!'_ Naruto shrieks mentally, having frozen in his tracks. Slowly, Naruto turns back into the kitchen, opening up random (mostly empty) cabinets to see if there was anything of use inside.

Naruto pulls open a drawer containing silverware and other (rarely used) utensils and hits the jackpot. In the drawer are chopsticks, all bundled together. It's the perfect makeshift splint.

Naruto grabs one package of wooden chopsticks, taking his prize back to the bedroom and placing the materials on the nightstand next to his bed. The kitten looks curious, tilting its head and flicking its ears, but making no attempt to move from its spot, wrapped snugly in a warm towel. Then, Naruto seats himself on the bed as well, acting as if he doesn't notice his still-wet clothing soaking into the bedding.

He picks up the pair of chopsticks from the nightstand, unwrapping it and breaking them apart. Then, after noticing that the sticks are too long, Naruto breaks one of them in half, bending the wood until it splinters. He transfers the kitten onto his lap, its injured leg hanging limply down. Naruto readjusts the towel so that it sits over his lap, kitten on top of it rather than cocooned in it. It flails a bit, squirming and attempting to crawl its way off of his lap, but each time Naruto simply blocks its path, pushing it back onto his lap with light admonishments. His hands are shaking as he cuts a strip off the bandages, keeping the fidgeting kitten in his lap with one hand while using the other to try to cut it at just right length.

After he's done with cutting it, Naruto sets the scissors and remaining bandages on the roll back on the nightstand, remorsefully holding the kitten down and pulling it's leg out straight. Naruto tries to ignore its pained cries, but his face still goes a little green, even as he retains a firm grip on the limb. The boy tears up in sympathy as he adjusts the kitten's leg for the sticks, using feather-light touches to determine where the break most likely is so he can place the supports properly. Then, to finish it up, Naruto uses the bandages he cut and wraps the leg, keeping the splint firmly in place, and applying just enough pressure to the leg that the broken bones likely won't be able to mess themselves up further.

All said and done, Naruto releases a relieved breath. He sets the kitten back down on one of the towels still splayed flat over his mattress, using the other to wrap it up in something warm and dry once again.

Naruto's glad the hard part is done, and rises from his seat on the bed to get the kitten a bowl of water from the kitchen, pulling a chipped bowl down from one of the cabinets and filling it with tap water, before setting it onto the set in a way that will prevent it from spilling.

Then, Naruto gets the heater going, forcefully. It's an old, decrepit thing, barely spluttering to life each time Naruto musters up the energy to bang on it with his fists or some other object, but Naruto is just glad that he can get it to work, this time.

Naruto sneezes, finally stepping out of his muddy, soaked shoes and jerkily peeling soiled socks off his feet. Then, Naruto clumsily slips off his undershirt, before changing out of his ruined pants and into some warm pajamas. Naruto sneezes again, reverberating off the walls as Naruto jerks with the force of it. He really was tired, and just looking at the sleeping kitten on his bed was making him sleepy, as well.

Ah, what the heck. He could deal with everything else tomorrow, Naruto was exhausted.

"Goodnight," Naruto whispers as he gets into bed and slides under the covers, moving the bowl to the nightstand and making sure not to disturb the resting animal too much. His fingers twitch, and Naruto hesitates for a moment before reluctantly giving the kitten a pat on the head.

It's soft. Naruto can't say he's ever had the opportunity to pet an animal before, usually finding himself distracted by biting teeth and claws. On an impulse, he starts to pet the kitten, running his fingers through soft, fluffy fur, enjoying every moment of it. Then, it starts to rumble. It's tiny body purring ferociously as Naruto continues to stroke it's back and rub its ears.

Naruto is elated. The success of the action then giving him the courage to continue his ministrations for some time after, until his hands grow tired and heavy with sleep, and his eyes fall shut.

The kitten continues to purr, and despite Naruto's budding fever and the waves of chills he was starting to experience, he gives into asleep with a smile.


	2. Knock knock, the future is here!

Title: Companion

Chapter: 2

Pairings: N/A, Gen

Rating: G

Summary: For the first eight years of Naruto's life, he was completely and utterly alone. When Naruto entered his apartment, no one welcomed his arrival. No one came home to see him after a long day of work, and he didn't have a single friend. Contact with people was sporadic, and ultimately, loneliness was his only constant companion.

Then, Naruto isn't alone anymore. He's still an orphan, still hated by the village at large and without a friend, but he's not alone, even if his companion isn't even human.

* * *

Hello again all, I'm back with chapter 2 of the one where Naruto gets a cat!

Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto's days at the academy are ending. It took three tries, failing each and every one, only managing to pass by the skin of his teeth on a trick that nearly got him and his favorite teacher murdered. Even though Naruto had only reached genin the night before, it'd felt like a lifetime ago already.

If anyone were to ask, Naruto would willingly admit that though he definitely wore his (Iruka-sensei's) forehead protector to bed, he found himself unable to sleep. He tossed and turned in his rickety old bed, overcome with a mix of exhilaration and dread, the sight of that giant kunai embedded in Iruka's back looping through his mind, along with lingering fear and adrenaline.

Iruka-sensei would be okay. Naruto would be okay. Mizuki was arrested and Iruka would recover, no one was angry at him for stealing the scroll.

And yet, somehow, his mind buzzed with worry, managing to be worlds away from his newly-crowned status as a genin.

Not that he'd ever admit it, but it took his cat jumping onto his bed and curling up next to his head for him to fall into slumber.

* * *

An alarm screeches.

Naruto sleeps through it, barely twitching at all the noise. Light filters in through the windows, painting the shabby apartment in golden light and making the space feel more comfortable. A black and white cat, previously curled up next to its owner, gets up. It stretches, digging its claws into the pillow and yawning, ears folded back.

It cautiously steps over mused hair and hops down onto the wooden floor with a light thump.

It's 7:15, the cat pads it's way into the kitchen, stopping by two metal bowls. It sticks its head into them, and when finding them unpleasantly empty, it turns tail and approaches the sleeping human once again.

A second later, the cat screams. It's a smaller than average cat, despite all of its fluff, but its wails and warbles reverberate throughout the space.

Naruto, of course, jumps into awareness, blearily looking down towards his screaming feline.

"What?" Naruto whines, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

His cat, in reply, spins around and trots out of his room, and into the kitchen. Naruto hasn't gotten out of his bed yet, but he knows she's in the kitchen due to the clanging and meowing he can clearly hear coming from across the apartment.

Also, this happens every morning, a daily routine of his cat screaming for food, and Naruto sleeping through his alarm. He isn't even really sure why he keeps the thing, his cat seems to be the only thing that ever wakes him up.

It's peaceful like this, he thinks. mornings are slow, and most days it's just him and his cat, even if the busyness of the day catches hold of him and whisks Naruto off to the academy.

Naruto looks towards the wall his calendar is pinned to, leaning forwards and squinting at the date.

He screeches, flinging off his blanket and jumping out of bed. "I- It's today! I'm going to be late!"

This, of course, calls his cat back into the room, who twines herself around his legs as he pulls open his dresser in panic, purring. Naruto has to nudge her away with his foot while he struggles to pull off his pajamas and get into his beloved jumpsuit, but she just meows up at him and tries to bite his toes.

Naruto then stumbles into his bathroom, sloppily brushing his teeth and attempting to comb his hair, ripping through a few tangles before giving up.

His cat sits in the doorway, meowing at him insistently.

Naruto just sighs. "Okay, okay! Jeez..."

The boy steps into the kitchen, his cat's meows getting louder and louder the closer to her bowl Naruto gets. The bowl is still half-full, but she acts like she hasn't eaten in weeks.

Naruto sometimes laments that maybe she loves him only because he feeds her.

Yet, he dutifully does so anyway, refilling the bowl with suitably fresh cat food, and refilling the water in her water bowl, so it's more suitable to her lavish tastes.

With that done and his cat now digging into what's been given to her, Naruto puts on his sandals and tightens his headband.

He pulls open the drawer in the hallway where he keeps his cat toys and other cat-related items, fishing out a navy blue bandana. On it, crudely stitched into the fabric in white, is his cat's name: "Miso".

Naruto has been waiting for this day. Now that he's a ninja, he can finally take his partner in crime with him out on missions, and they can do cool ninja stuff together! He's been thinking about it since he saw a ninja parading around with a pack of dogs.

They could talk, and miso can't, but that won't stop them! They have an awesome and extremely strong bond, after all!

Besides, Miso already comes with him when he pulls his awesome pranks! They're a perfect team!

Knowing that, Naruto had the foresight to make a matching bandana for her, that way she could be identified as _his_ ninja cat!

"Miso! We're leavin'!" he calls, smiling in delight when she dutifully trots into the hallway, tail up and alert. Naruto then bends down and, using one hand to keep her in place (She's so squirmy!), he quickly ties the bandana firmly around her neck.

Miso, of course, blinks and bats at it with her paw, but at the sound of the door opening, quickly turns her attention towards the outdoors. Naruto laughs brightly at that, giving a cursory petting as she bounds out the door, fluffy tail swishing behind her.

And with that, Naruto, too, exits his apartment.

* * *

Miso, unused to loud noises that aren't coming from Naruto, stays close to his side. Most would be afraid of their cat running away during the morning rush hour, but Miso is a bit of a princess, and when frightened tends to jump into Naruto's arms or turntail back towards the direction of their apartment.

Naruto has to pick Miso up half-way through their trip to the academy, because Miso likes to take her time on these excursions through the village, and _neither of them has the time for that_. She's indignant, meowing angrily at him for interrupting her very thorough investigation of a vegetable stand, but he powers through it, breaking into a very awkward run-walk.

Miso _hates_ it when he runs while he's carrying her, but he really can't miss this. It's team assignment day! If he's late they might not let him become a genin!

hr

Naruto enters his classroom right before the bell denoting the start of class rings, looking relieved despite being out of breath and only barely making it into class on time. Miso, of course, is _very_ displeased.

His cat has her ears flat against her head, tail lashing wildly. She's managed to tuck herself into his neck, paws digging painfully into his shoulder while she clung for dear life.

So, yes, even if Miso is not growling, she is clearly unhappy with the run, but in the end, she's in a new place and that is what takes up her attention.

Her ears swivel and her eyes widen as she looks fervently around the classroom, craning her head to see every nook and cranny. Naruto goes to move towards his seat, walking down the aisle and trying to calm her down by petting her. Miso is, of course, undaunted by the action and looks just about ready to jump out of his arms to explore.

Naruto is just about to verbally admonish her for the oncoming bad behavior, but Miso goes still. Her pupils, previously blown wide, narrow, and she looks towards the direction of Kiba, who looks confused but aggrieved by the sight of a feline. Naruto passes Kiba on the way to an open seat.

Miso pulls her ears back and _hisses_ at him. Naruto guesses that sitting anywhere near Kiba is a horrible idea, and wisely chooses to sit somewhere else.

He takes the first open seat on the opposite side of the room from Kiba, really more focused on Miso and getting her to behave than one anyone else. That's why the genin doesn't notice Sakura approaching him until she speaks, sounding aggravated but mostly confused.

"Naruto... who's cat is that!? And why did you bring it to class! I don't know how you passed the exam but I thought you'd at least be slightly more serious now!"

The boy in question jumps slightly, his now calmer cat having curled up on the desk, content to sit there and watch the happenings as long as Naruto keeps scratching her ears. Sakura is right, though, he's a ninja now! He has to show them all that he's serious about this!

So, Naruto turns his brightest, most prideful grin on her, and declares, "Sakura-chan! This is my partner, Miso! Isn't she awesome? She's like me, and both of us are serious ninja now, can't you see the headband and bandana?!"

Sakura just takes a deep breath, looking for all the world like she's about to blow a fuse, even as the class erupts into noise around them, kids yelling and all clambering for his attention, asking questions mixed with thinly-veiled insults.

Naruto, haughtily, defends himself and his cat, only really getting angry when they imply that he _stole_ Miso from someone, even though he _didn't_ do that and would _never_ do that, even if animals _did_ like him.

Sasuke eyes his cat for a moment and then goes back to ignoring him.

Which… really pisses him off. He's about to show that bastard what-for, but he's interrupted by Choji, who asks him, if not unkindly, about his cat.

Naruto puffs his chest out, and picks Miso up, gladly showing her off. "This is Miso and she's the best cat ever! We're gonna become the best ninja team and go on awesome missions and it's gonna be great!" the boy cuts his ranting short to give an arrogant laugh, "I bet you all are jealous!"

The classes consensus on that statement is decidedly negative, and they scowl and yell at him.

But he's right, so who really cares?

Miso, relishing in all the attention, simply purrs, causing Sakura to coo a bit at her. However, Iruka walks in at that very moment, staring at Miso in bewilderment. He was about to greet the class, but he's honestly wondering why there's a domesticated cat in the classroom and why _Naruto_ , of all people, seems to be the one in charge of it.

Iruka is _this close_ to scolding Naruto for whatever tomfoolery he's attempting - on team assignment day, no less! - but then he sees the smug but earnest look on Naruto's face, his eyes nearly sparkling, and the navy bandana the cat is wearing - and suddenly it clicks.

' _Oh.'_ Iruka thinks, ' _That's Naruto's cat. He… must have misunderstood how summons work.'_

Even though Iruka is a teacher, that it's his _job_ to correct these kinds of notions before Naruto's cat is killed and Naruto ends up heartbroken, he can't bring himself to correct the boy. Instead, Iruka just sighs, and as he approaches the front of the classroom, he pats the cat just once.

Iruka is only slightly mad at himself, because the slightly searching look Naruto gives him gives into sheer _joy_ when Iruka pats that cat.

Finally, Iruka straightens up, takes a breath, and opens the doors to the future.

* * *

The wait for their, (and Naruto uses this term loosely) "Sensei" is boring, even with Miso's company. Though Naruto tries to make conversation, attempting to bridge the gap by way of his cat, the reception he gets is stone cold. Sakura, of course, sits as far away from Naruto and as close to Sasuke as she can get. Naruto tries to ignore the hurt that comes with the action, trying to feel bitter at Sasuke, rather than stricken with rejection.

It is Sasuke's fault. It's _always_ Sasuke's fault.

Sasuke, the bastard, just ignores Sakura, who mostly just glances shyly at Sasuke, blushing heavily.

They're off in their own little world, one that Naruto is clearly _not apart of_. So, eventually, Naruto simply gives up on trying to gain and hold their attention, and turns his focus back to his cat.

Miso, of course, loves attention. When Naruto pets her in her favorite spot, right below the base of her ears, her purring amplifies, going from a small, steady rumble to that of a loud, broken motor.

It's one of Naruto's favorite sounds if he's honest, and he simply spends some time with his head on the desk and drowning her in attention. The boy gets bored eventually, however, and attempts to provoke Miso into chasing after his finger.

It does not work, she simply flicks an ear at him and goes back to her nap, adjusting herself so the sunlight filtering in through the window reaches her better. Naruto sighs, resigned, but then realizes just how long they've been waiting for their teacher, and gets pissed off.

If the jerk is going to be this late, then it's fine if Naruto pranks him, right?!

Naruto rises from his seat, hands on his hips as he carefully looks about the room. Naruto looks at what materials he has around him for a prank, coming the conclusion that the only thing he could set up quickly was a classic.

The eraser on the door frame.

Naruto, giggling, stealthily snatches up a dusty eraser, then quickly dragging a chair over by the door, all the while intently ignoring the loud, grating noise the action produces as it bumps and scrapes the wooden flooring.

Then, to finish it off, Naruto climbs into the chair and positions it on the door frame, so that when the door was opened, the eraser would fall from its position and onto the unsuspecting head of the person entering the room.

Sweet, sweet revenge.

Naruto had planned to just leave the chair and return to his seat, but Sakura yells at him for it, so he winces and scowls as he places it back into his previous position, huffing the entire time.

Miso, for her part, sniffs at his now chalky hands.

... and, promptly, attempts to lick it.

Her eyes are wide as saucers, and her head tilts slightly in curiosity at the substance. Naruto panics a bit at her futile attempt to _eat it_ (...sometimes Naruto wonders about Miso's sense. Sometimes she's a super smart, awesome cat! And sometimes she's… like this.), and quickly wipes his hands onto his pants so Miso doesn't do anything to hurt herself.

The boredom sets back in, and Naruto sighs angrily, idly watching the clock tick while absently running his fingers through Miso's fur.

Then, finally, the door opens. The sliding door is nearly thrown open, startling the room's occupants (though, mostly Miso, who jumps to her feet in surprise.).

The clatter, Naruto notices, causes the eraser on top of the door to fall from its position above the door frame, down onto the head of a grey-haired man.

White, chalky dust gets everywhere, and Naruto can only laugh, clapping heartily with joyful tears in his eyes.

' _Serves him right!'_ Naruto thinks viciously, before stealing a glance at Sasuke and Sakura. Neither of them are laughing, but from the constipated looks both of them wear and the look in their eyes, they must really want to.

' _Score! Naruto: 1! Jerk-sensei: 0'_ Naruto thinks, smugly.

Jerk-sensei, shaking his head, gives them all an unimpressed, blank look, and announces before disappearing a cloud of smoke, "First impression: I hate you all. Meet me on the roof.".

Sakura and Sasuke _glare_ at him while simultaneously rising from their seats. Naruto frowns and watches them the pair exit the room before deciding to follow.

The genin turns back towards Miso, who's gone back grooming herself and taps her on the head. Miso, tongue poking out slightly, looks up towards Naruto, who just shrugs at her and turns to walk out the room.

He'd be worried that she wouldn't follow him, but Naruto hears the sound of paws hitting the wooden floor and looks down to Miso trotting at his side.

Together, silently, both of them just move towards the roof of the building.

* * *

Kakashi Hatake, newly assigned jounin-sensei, isn't really sure what to make of his team just yet.

He'd expected brats, especially the particular brand of bratty-ness Naruto exuded, but it'd still been a very long time since Kakashi had really interacted with Naruto on any level, and so was still caught off-guard.

Naruto has gotten _gutsy_ , apparently. Though that could just be due to the fact that the last time Kakashi had truly interacted with Naruto had been when the kid was seven.

Other than some anger, maybe a bit of yelling, Kakashi hadn't really expected any sort of backlash from his newly-gained students, assuming that they'd really hold themselves in so as not to jeopardize their shiny new status as genin.

He was wrong, obviously, because Naruto is _laughing_ and there is _chalk in his hair_. Kakashi breathes in, slowly, and breathes out. He looks at the three children in this room with disdain, attempting to mask it with as blank an expression he can muster, and tells them he hates them.

Kakashi just can't wait to get this _over with_ , and then, finally, he can go back home and act like none of this had ever happened. Until the next year, of course, when the Hokage inevitably forces another trio of pre-teens on him once again, like clockwork.

And so, Kakashi shunshins up to the roof, folds his arms and leans against the railing, and waits.

* * *

Naruto can say, without a doubt, that he hates his new sensei and the academy building.

There are so many flights of stairs, it's _exhausting_. (He scowls down at Miso, who meows at him and nearly bursting with energy.) Plus, with Miso getting side-tracked, deciding that following him was less interesting than sniffing at the doors to rooms and corners in her immediate area, he took way longer than both Sakura and Sasuke. So, when Naruto finally steps onto the roof, Miso cradled in his arms and meowing, he nearly goes red with embarrassment to find his sensei and teammates staring at him, annoyed.

Normally, to Naruto, any attention is good attention, but at this moment? It's simply a bit disheartening, and for a moment Naruto wants to look away, if only to avoid the look they're giving him.

Nevertheless, Naruto soldiers on, putting pomp into his steps as he swaggers up to join the rest of the group.

Naruto's sensei, thankfully and weirdly, completely ignores Miso, giving her only a cursory glance before moving on to introductions.

Sakura looks nervous for a second, and unable to find a good way to start her introduction, asks for their sensei to introduce himself first as an example. He does so, ending up giving the trio no information about him but his name, but it's… a good enough example, Naruto guesses.

…even if the way the guy said it _really_ pissed him off.

He winces when Sakura says she hates him, and while outwardly he simply whines about it, Naruto can really feel the sting of it, along with the persistent ache it leaves behind. Miso, seeming to sense this (because she always could, always knew just when he needed to be cheered up) butts her head against his leg, meowing and demanding pets.

Naruto, not looking away from his team, does so, and the ache in his chest is quickly soothed away as Miso begins to purr.

Sasuke's introduction is, by all accounts, disturbing. It leaves Naruto wondering whether or not he should lock his windows extra tight, lest Sasuke break into his apartment and smother him in his sleep. His brooding bastard of a teammate may not have specified who he wanted to kill, but Naruto was not about to take any chances.

Then, just like that, it's Naruto's turn to speak, to give his best shot at a second impression and really make himself _shine_. With this thought in mind and a goal in front of him, Naruto draws himself up and bellows, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen and Miso! We're going to be partners and do cool ninja stuff together… and when I become Hokage, both me _and_ Miso's faces will be up on that mountain!"

He's really proud of that last line, it's such a grand announcement and Naruto finds it befitting of him and Miso.

His teacher doesn't think the same. He kind of just shrugs, looks a bit baffled and unimpressed while squinting at Naruto's cat.

"Hey… Naruto," Kakashi says, gesturing at Miso. "Is that a nin-cat?"

' _Nin-cat? Like a ninja cat?'_ Naruto thinks, a bit confused by the term. Naruto, in reply, just kind of laughs at the question. The genin grins brightly up at Kakashi, replying with a whimsical, "Sure!"

Kakashi Hatake, high-ranking jounin, simply rubs his chin and observes Miso closely.

Miso ignores him, licking one of her front paws.

"Naruto," Kakashi says, blankly, "Miso is hereby banned from any future team meetings."

Naruto freezes, blinking up at him. The order given not being fully comprehended by the orange genin just yet. Naruto blinks once again, and his brain stops, starts again, and Naruto finally unfreezes, hands curling into fists and Naruto shouts in shock,

" _What!?"_

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. My tumblr is the same as my user, so any updates will be there. Critcism is appreciated, so if you find anything that seems off, feel free to leave a review abt it! 


	3. In which there is a test

Title: Companion

Chapter 3

Fandom: Naruto

Pairings: N/A, Gen

Summary: For the first eight years of Naruto's life, he was completely and utterly alone. When Naruto entered his apartment, no one welcomed his arrival. No one came home to see him after a long day of work, and he didn't have a single friend. Contact with people was sporadic, and ultimately, loneliness was his only constant companion.

Then, Naruto isn't alone anymore. He's still an orphan, still hated by the village at large and without a friend, but he's not alone, even if his companion isn't even human.

* * *

 **Naruto couldn't believe it. He** ** _refused_** **. When Naruto had graduated from the academy, he'd been under the impression that he'd be practically home free, that he'd be able to go his own way, learn what he wants, pursue his dreams with Miso at his side, entirely unobstructed. Yet, here Naruto was, faced with another bemused teacher standing between him and true, tangible happiness, blocking him once again.**

There was no way Naruto was just going to lie down and let Kakashi take his partner away! Naruto wouldn't allow it!

"Wha- No! Why?!" Naruto shouts, eyes blown wide.

Kakashi simply raises his eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest. "Housepets are not allowed at training. It'll die."

"Miso is not just a housepet!" Naruto bristles, "She's a ninja, too! We're partners!"

Naruto's sensei can't break them up, he can't. Something in Naruto creaks and groans at the thought of having to go alone, to go on missions and leave his companion at home. His mind and heart cling to his cat, to her fluffy paws and comforting meows. She can't talk, but if she could, Naruto knows - for sure! - that she'd make everyone see her worth.

She's not useless. Miso is not a simple h- _housepet!_ He was so sure of it… she just _wasn't_.

Somewhere along the way, Naruto had adjusted his future dreams and visions to include Miso. The fluffy, bossy cat seemed to be a permanent fixture in his imaginations, in his whimsical daydreams. She helped him win fights, both of them coordinated and working in tandem to defeat their opponent, and stood by his side or on his shoulders through everything.

He won't let some stupid, lazy jerk take this from him. Naruto jerked, reaching down and scooping Miso up into his arms, holding her to his chest in a protective manner. The boy angles the meowing, squirming bundle in his arms away from Kakashi, glaring at the man with clenched teeth.

Seeing Naruto's reaction, Kakashi simply sighs. The man rolls his shoulders in a "what can you do?" motion, and then the man is gone. Naruto has only time to blink, without even fully comprehending how the man was there one moment and gone the next, before the jounin appears in front of him, snatching Naruto's cat directly out of his arms. Naruto reaches out, attempting to retrieve Miso. A small, surprised gasp leaves his lips, anger melting into horror. But Naruto's attempt is in vain: it was too late, Kakashi having already sped back to his previous position against the railing, attempting to ignore the way Miso growls and angrily lashes her tail at him.

Miso is very displeased, and she attempts to wiggle out of the man's grip, spitting and hissing. It makes Naruto's fists curl, clenching them so tight it makes his fists quiver and his knuckles white.

"Give her back!" Naruto snarls, a thread of desperation wound through his demand. Distantly, Naruto knows that being rude to their new sensei, the one who's supposed to teach him high-level ninja stuff, is most definitely a very bad idea, but the longer the jounin holds his cat hostage, the angrier Naruto gets. Miso, for her part, swipes at Kakashi's face and attempts to leap from his arms. It doesn't work, of course - After all, what's a cat to a ninja? - and Kakashi simply adjusts his arms, corralling her back into his vice-like grip.

Naruto's sensei eyes the boy for a moment, appearing to consider Naruto's demand.

"Hmm… No. I don't really feel like it." Kakashi drawls, turning away from Naruto before he can reply and looking towards Sasuke and Sakura. The two are looking decidedly like they want absolutely no part and this (and trust him, Naruto doesn't either!), but Kakashi says nothing more about making one of his genin hate him.

' _It went downhill so fast…'_ Naruto thinks, glumly.

"Then- then I'll win her back!" the genin cries, "I challenge you, and when I win you'll give her back!"

"Ah… well. That's fine." Kakashi says. The jounin pulls out a set of bells previously clipped to the supply pouch on his hip. There's only two of them, and they clink together prettily when jostled. The bells seem surprisingly well taken care of, smooth metal polished and reflecting the afternoon sun. "I was gonna do this anyway.." Kakashi mumbles, "At least, this way, it might be more fun… hopefully. Maybe. Probably not."

The man clears his throat before addressing the trio of genin in front of him. "Well… you all aren't really genin yet." The man says, unconcerned. A glint in his uncovered eye revealing the man to be smug and amused by their shocked, indignant faces. "See these bells here? You've got till noon to get them from me - if you can. Without a bell, you fail, and it's back to the academy for you."

"But… Sensei," Sakura blinks, her brows furrowing, 'There're only two bells. There's three of us, so not every one of us can get one… what happens to the one left without a bell?"

With a twinkle in his eye - and pointedly looking away from Miso, who taken to chewing on Kakashi's forearm - the jounin answered, "Because, Sakura, I'm only taking two students, of course! The third will be sent back to the academy either way!"

Before any of them can break through their horror, Kakashi turns his attention back towards Naruto, flippantly taking on an additional threat.

"Oh, and Naruto… if you fail, I'm sure your pet will do well in someone else's hands. Maybe some little old lady could use some company, don't you think? So… if you don't want that… make sure to win, okay?" The hell-demon posing as his sensei says, having the gall to smile at him through his mask. Naruto has to swallow back tears that threaten to overcome him, lest he burst into tears right then and there.

"Fine!" Naruto bursts out, face red as he tries to see past his rage and the all-consuming despair washing over him, "I'll win her back, and then you'll be sorry!"

"If you say so," Kakashi shrugs, doubtful of Naruto's claim. "Alright then… meet in training ground twelve at 7:30. Oh, and, might not wanna eat breakfast. You might throw up."

Kakashi gives them a final once-over, and shunshins away, taking Miso with him.

* * *

Naruto holds out until he trudges through the front door of his apartment.

Miso does not greet him at the door. She does not meow up at him with dinner plate eyes, begging for food and attention.

Miso is not here, not with him.

The thought strikes deep within him, pierces his soul and shatters it. Fat, heavy tears well up in his eyes, blotting out his vision. Naruto hiccups, leaning against the door while he tries to staunch the flow of tears.

He cries harder.

Naruto hadn't thought it would go like this, that his teacher would take his cat from him. Rage bubbles up in him, then, and Naruto wants to scream. Wants to yell and break things, make that stupid teacher pay for this, for making him feel like this and threatening his cat. Instead, Naruto cries. The boy slides to the floor, sobbing into his hands while tears gush from his eyes.

He stays like that for a long while, hiccuping and gasping for breath as Naruto wrestles with despair, because _he didn't have anything else, didn't want to be alone-_

" _Tomorrow_ ," Naruto whispers, voice hoarse as he glares at the wall through blurry eyes. "Tomorrow I'll get her back."

He sniffles once more, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve, and hauls himself up from the floor.

* * *

' _I fucked up.'_ is Kakashi's first thought as he stares down at one very angry cat. She'd backed herself into a wall, hissing and spitting, swiping at him every time he approached. She looked two seconds away from abandoning her post and lunging for his throat, and Kakashi couldn't say he blamed her.

What was he _thinking?_ The sandaime must be going senile if he thinks Kakashi is a suitable teacher. Really, he shouldn't be allowed anywhere around children, especially Naruto, _fuck_. Now he's got an angry animal loose in his house - Kakashi has a contract with ninken! He probably smells like dog! - he's alienated two of his genin, and stole the pet of the third! Fuck! Naruto probably hates him now. Double fuck!

Kakashi isn't sure how he's going to fix all this, but he knows he can't back out now. They'd probably think of him as a coward… and he'd be in an even worse position than he'd started with. At least, this way, they'll all fail the test and he'll never have to deal with them ever again.

For now, however, the jounin was stuck with an angry cat, no food to placate it with, and a tight knot of dread lodged in his ribcage. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The morning of the bell test is cold and lonesome, unlike the previous morning, where Naruto'd had Miso curled near his head, purring in contentment. For once, his alarm came in handy, as the beeping woke him in place of his cat, ensuring that he wouldn't be late, at least.

Naruto skipped breakfast. Instead, he sluggishly pulled on his jumpsuit, slipped on his sandals, and made his way towards training ground twelve.

He arrived at the grounds at the same time as Sasuke and Sakura did. A somber mood blanketed the area, and Naruto felt more like he was marching to his death more than his future. The boy was tempted to try and break the ice, but he, strangely, couldn't find the energy in him to do so. Besides, what was there to be cheerful about? Miso was being held hostage, he wasn't a "real" genin yet, and even if he did pass and get Miso back, there was still the problem of their lazy, no-good sensei! So, with that thought in mind, Naruto sat down to wait.

Their sensei showed up in the same way he'd left the day before, abruptly and with a shunshin. The jounin's sudden appearance startled Naruto out of his bored stupor, and the boy stood up from the ground, fists curling.

In Kakashi's arms was Miso. She didn't seem to be any worse for wear, though her bandana was in the wrong place and her fur was a bit ruffled, Naruto zeroed-in on the way Miso twitched at the sight of Naruto, looking as if she were to jump out of her captor's arms and bound towards him.

A rush of determination filled Naruto, then. He'd win her back, and then they'd go home as fully recognized genin and eat celebratory ramen from Ichiraku's.

Naruto's jounin sensei, however, looked a bit worse for wear. The man looked, not exhausted, but a bit bogged down. Miso had done a number on his hands and arms, if the angry scratches and tears in his garments were anything to go by. It left Naruto feeling a bit smug, that Miso gave the man hell while she was in his care.

'Take that, you bastard!' Naruto thought vindictively, looking Kakashi dead in the eye and donning his most smug grin.

"Alright then… time to get this over with." Kakashi spoke. One-handed, Kakashi pulls both the bells and a timer from his pocket, setting the timer down on an upright log before continuing. "This timer's set for noon. You've got until then to get the bells from me. Like I said yesterday, there are only two bells, so choose wisely, as I'll only take two fo you. Good luck!"

Sakura and Sasuke both scatter, backing away from Kakashi and leaping back into the foliage. Naruto doesn't instead, he stiffens his shoulders, glares at Kakashi, and lunges for him, fully intending to swipe the bells dangling from his fingers. The jounin simply steps out of the way, not even looking back as Naruto skids past him. Naruto grunts, jerkily coming to a stop before turning to face the jounin again.

Kakashi looks a bit intimidating, even though the man hasn't turned his dispassionate gaze onto him, and all Naruto can see is his back. There's something about him that makes Naruto's senses scream danger! On repeat, in hopes that Naruto will heed their warning and turn tail and run. But the man has Miso, and he's dumb and late and not a very good teacher at all, so Naruto holds his ground, leaping at Kakashi again and again, despite how the man simply continues to dodge. His sensei does not taunt him, does not attempt to dangle Miso in front of him. The man just keeps himself, Miso, and the bells firmly out of Naruto's grip, saying nothing. A nothing that speaks more to Naruto than a thousand taunts ever could. A litany of ' _Weak! So useless you'll never get what you lost back! Never get what you want! Is that your best? It's everyone else's worst!'_ that beats on his eardrums and makes Naruto grind his teeth together.

Naruto makes to punch Kakashi for the fifth time, but the man suddenly whirls on him and suddenly the breath is knocked from his lungs and he can't breathe-

Naruto's on his knees, vision blurred as he dry heaves. Kakashi had punched him in the stomach. A strangled, frustrated noise leaves his throat, even as he blinks through the steady drip of tears and attempts to get back on his feet. The jounin simply knocks him over again, kicking him to the ground before turning his attention elsewhere.

The tears begin to fall in earnest, and Naruto tries to take great, heaving breaths, hoping the pain will fade and his vision will clear and he'll be able to get up-

Naruto hiccups, and he's unable to staunch the frustrated, so very hurt tears, the tears accompanied by small, strangled sobs.

It hurts, and Naruto, so very small and _weak_ , can do no more than tremble for a few long moments, hyper-aware of his would-be teammates that are probably watching him break down like this.

The pain holding him hostage fades, gradually, and Naruto, with bruises and aches and no Miso or bells to show for it, drags himself to his feet.

Naruto tries again.

* * *

He fails - all of them do. Sasuke ends up buried in the ground, Sakura faints. And Naruto? He ends up a bruised, beaten mess on the ground. Thoroughly exhausted.

Naruto ends up being the one tied to the stump. His - Now former? Was he ever? - sensei merely rolls his shoulders and hikes Miso up further, as if Miso's predicament is all _Naruto's_ fault, and not the man who took her in the first place-

He's cried too much today. This isn't what he wanted at _all_. There's snot mixing with salty tears, but Naruto's hands are bound so he can't even wipe at them with his sleeve, and at this point, Naruto doesn't really want to wipe it away. He's already undone, and there's nothing left to do but cry and rail against the ropes.

Naruto firmly avoids looking at either Sasuke or Sakura. He doesn't really want to see their reactions right now.

The other two, at least, are allowed to eat. Naruto is not. Which would've been the case anyway, as in his haste to win Miso back, he'd forgotten to nab some cup noodles for lunch.

Naruto's stomach growls.

"Agh! I can't do it! You just look so pathetic-!" Sakura bursts out, and unwittingly, Naruto's head swivels in her direction. "Here, just. Take it. And stop crying already!"

A bit of rice is held up to his mouth, and Naruto sniffles a bit. "But… Sakura-chan... " Naruto croaks. "Sensei said not to… you'll be tied to the stump, too!"

Sakura insistently presses her chopsticks to his lips, sighing. "I don't give a damn, we've already failed! Just shut up and take it!"

Naruto stares at her for a moment longer, silent. Then, the boy gratefully accepts the food, chewing it solemnly. ' _This is why Sakura-chan is the best.'_ Naruto thinks, and a part of him wants to squeal in happiness that his crush is feeding him, but he can't. Not with Kakashi gone, presumably off giving away his cat.

Not without Miso.

On his other side, Sasuke grunts. He's got his head facing away from Naruto, but he, too, is holding out his chopsticks. Naruto's eyes widen slightly, and he blinks at the proffered food owlishly, unsure of what to do with it. He wants to refuse, proclaim that he's not weak and he doesn't need it, but at this point… what does Naruto have to lose? He's tired. He wants to go home and bundle himself up in his bed, to attempt to wash away the day's events.

Then he'll have to go searching for Miso. He'll have to adopt her again if she's in one of the shelters - steal her back if he has to.

He doesn't want to have to steal her back.

But Naruto can't go home, not yet. He doesn't know how long he'll be tied here for, and how long it will take for him to get out of his bonds, weather Kakashi's final judgment, and scamper back to his apartment. Also, he's starving. So, there's that. Naruto merely sends Sasuke a wary look and accepts the food offered to him.

And the thing is- they keep feeding him. When Naruto feels another wave of loss crash down on him, and he feels his eyes fill with tears and his throat close up, Sakura and Sasuke shove a bit of food in his face. They do this until both lunches are eaten, and there's no time to cry because Kakashi is back and he still has Miso with him, she's not gone-

"I thought I told you both not to feed him!" The man says stormily. Sasuke and Sakura inhale, looking regretful for a moment, but Kakashi continues before they can begin to defend themselves. "So… with that, you all… pass!"

' _Huh?'_ Naruto thinks, dumbfounded.

"The point of the test wasn't to get the bells but to work together. Giving Naruto your lunch even after I told you not to… that, unfortunately, constitutes a pass. So, congrats! You're all genin now, and I'm your beloved sensei!"

"Like _hell_ you are!" cries Sakura, thoroughly done with everything that's happened.

The jounin ignores her, turning towards a shocked Naruto. "For you… that means you get your pet back, I guess!"

As he says this, he nearly drops Miso, dumping her to the ground. Miso turns around and latches her jaws onto Kakashi's ankle in retaliation, but she quickly turns her attention back towards Naruto, dashing for him.

Miso's back. He's passed. He's going a fully fledged ninja now. Miso, of course, starts her broken-motor rumble as she rubs against his legs, looking up at him and so obviously begging for affection. She gives him a little more to get him to pet her, but takes matters into her own hands and sinks her claws into the stump, swiftly climbing the thing to butt her head against his.

Naruto can do no more than laugh brightly, eyes red-rimmed and face sticky with dried snot and tears. There's something warm expanding in his chest, and Naruto nearly tears up again in sheer relief.

He's not really paying attention to anything other than Miso, so he doesn't know who it was that cut him free. But it doesn't really matter, because he scoops his cat into his arms and all is right again. It's like coming up for air after drowning, like that first heaving gasp as air rushes spent lungs.

"You still can't bring her to training." Kakashi says, flatly.

Naruto isn't listening.


	4. The Art of Cat Herding

Title: Companion

Chapter 4

Fandom: Naruto

Pairings: N/A, Gen

Summary: For the first eight years of Naruto's life, he was completely and utterly alone. When Naruto entered his apartment, no one welcomed his arrival. No one came home to see him after a long day of work, and he didn't have a single friend. Contact with people was sporadic, and ultimately, loneliness was his only constant companion.

Then, Naruto isn't alone anymore. He's still an orphan, still hated by the village at large and without a friend, but he's not alone, even if his companion isn't even human.

* * *

Hi everyone! I'm back again with an update :3c

So, a run-down of how the rest of the fic will go. I sat down and plotted the rest of the fic out, and it'll be about 15 chapters in total. My outline up until chapter 6 is minimal , so expect the lengths, unless they get out of hand - as I am wont to do -, to be fairly short. We're talking 1.5k-3k here. Later, though, with chapters 7-14, the chapters will get fucking long. My outline has enough content planned for each chapter that I'd pin average lengths at anywhere from 5-9k. Then, chapter 15 will be the epilogue, and the fic will be complete! 

With that in mind, enjoy!

* * *

Naruto did not, in fact, stop bringing Miso to missions.

When Naruto took Miso home after the bell test that day, munching on his celebratory ramen with Miso - who'd been given a heaping helping of wet cat food - the boy had puzzled over the problem that was the Miso Ban. Naruto came up short in the tactics department, however, so most of Naruto's attempts at forming a way around the ban fizzled out as quickly as they were born. In the end, while hanging upside down over the edge of his bed, Naruto decided he'd just do what he'd always done: bulldoze over it until it bent under his will.

That's not to say Naruto didn't at least _attempt_ to obey, it's just that it didn't work. When Naruto leaves for training, he's very careful to lock Miso inside the apartment, just until he's sure Kakashi won't steal her away from him again. Yet, every time, without fail, Miso will come bounding up to Naruto midway during training. She meows and rubs against his leg, demanding he pick her up as punishment for locking her inside.

The first time Kakashi made Naruto bring Miso back home was also the last time he did so, because it had made them very late to their latest D-rank. Naruto had laughed in Kakashi's face when the pay for it was cut down, until _Naruto's_ pay was cut down, too. Naruto decided just to sulk after that.

So, it was quite the surprise when, several hours into team Steven's latest D-rank, Miso was yet to be seen. They had to retrieve the cat of the fire Daimyo's wife, Tora. She'd been known to run away quite often, and was notoriously hard to nab. The cat held nothing back. It would scratch, bite, practically maul you until you let the thing go, and so it was shoved off to the genin to struggle with.

The pay for the mission was fairly high, too. Kakashi had nearly grinned at the number attached to the mission, and knowing that there'd be minimal work for him, had swiftly nabbed the mission.

The hokage had simply rubbed his temple.

At first, the genin of Team Seven had been completely confident in their ability to catch one cat, but as the hours wore on, and the scratches and bites on their arms and faces multiplied, their confidence waned sharply.

Only Kakashi seemed chipper, urging them on with grating encouragement, and subtle jabs at their abilities.

Naruto is breathing heavily, lungs tight and his legs burning. This had been the sixth time the boy'd had to make a mad dash for the animal, and every time he'd managed to grab ahold of it, it'd slip from his hands like butter. Really, the animal was awful, and Naruto was just glad Miso was fairly well-behaved and - glaring at the wounds marking his arms - _nice_ to him.

He'd have to try something else. It was clear to Naruto that the rest of team seven never owned a cat before, because they just kept running and chasing the feline, as if it'd work! Naruto sighs, bemoaning the waste of these particular treats - they're expensive!

Naruto reaches into the pouch attached to his hip, undoing the button and pulling out a small cat treat. The orange genin is scowling, going in search of the runaway once again, treat in hand. Sasuke and Sakura do the same, while Kakashi simply follows the group, nose in the newest volume of Icha Icha.

 _'There!'_ Naruto thinks, spotting Tora just up ahead, gearing up to leap onto a fence. Naruto gets close enough to the cat to be in hearing range, before Naruto crouches down, holding the treat in his closed fist.

" _Here kitty kitty!"_ Naruto sings, immediately grabbing Tora's attention. The cat seems conflicted, tail flicking uncertainly, as if irritated but… curious.

With cats, curiosity always wins out. Naruto's scowl morphs into something smug when Tora's tail goes up, and she cautiously, slowly approaches Naruto's outstretched hand, as if it'd blow up in her face at any moment. The genin continues his calls, patting his leg as if to urge her closer, faster.

No one moves. Sakura and Sasuke both look like they want to lunge for the cat and scoop her up, but it's as if they're caught in a spell, frozen. They simply watch Naruto and Tora, sweating, and hoping to every god that this time would be the last, and they'd be able to get their money and go the _hell_ home.

Soon, Tora is sniffing curiously at Naruto's curled hand, head outstretched and her tail flicking in curiosity. Tora pauses for a moment, and then makes contact, softly batting her paw at Naruto's fingers, as if to demand Naruto open them and show her the source of the smell.

Naruto does so, face so smug it nearly hurt. Tora lets out a little _mrpw_ and cocks her head curiously at the treat. She sniffs it one more time, before she lunges forward to steal it from his hand, devouring it whole. Naruto moves to snatch Tora up, but Tora's disposition shifts, and she meows loudly at him, butting her head against his hand. It's obviously a demand for more treats, and Naruto sighs again.

All cats are the same.

Naruto resumes his movements, and Naruto grunts as he scoops Tora up into his arms. She was a bit fat… but it made sense, seeing as she _was_ the daimyo's cat, after all.

Tora doesn't purr, but she doesn't go ballistic on him, either. She simply flicks her tail and shoves her nose into Naruto's neck. Naruto turns to the rest of his team, smiling at them. "Got 'er!" Naruto chirps, relishing in Kakashi's put-out expression. There's a look in Sasuke's eyes that Naruto wants absolutely no part in, and so Naruto siddles over to Sakura's side as they meander to the missions office to report its completion.

Kakashi decides to be an ass, because he's got an eyebrow quirked in Naruto's direction. "Why didn't you do that sooner?" Kakashi muses, because he's an _ass._

Naruto harrumphs. "I didn't think of it, okay?!"

"Whatever you say, you're the expert." Kakashi shrugs, expression as obviously fake to him as it was to everyone else.

 _'Stupid, idiot, useless-sensei…!'_ Naruto fumed.

* * *

Seeing the way the Daimyo's wife treats Tora clears up a lot.

His confusion and antipathy for the animal soon gives way to empathy, cringing as he watches the way that Tora is squished and held and petted too roughly, too tightly. Naruto's sorely tempted to correct the woman, near royalty or not, but Kakashi gives Naruto a _look_ , and the genin holds his tongue, sulking.

They receive their pay gratefully, and Naruto sighs in relief. It seemed he wouldn't have to worry about money for a while yet.

However, when Kakashi has them back at the missions desk the very next day, perusing D-rank after D-rank - all of which are just menial chores - something in Naruto becomes unhinged.

Naruto throws his hands up in frustration, fuming.

"No no no! No more D-ranks!" Naruto cries. "I didn't come a ninja to weed peoples' gardens! There _has_ to be something else, I'm not gonna pick up a single piece of litter or pull another weed! Hell no!"

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei shouts, tone scolding. The teacher opens his mouth to lecture Naruto on proper behavior, but a hand from the hokage stops him.

"Hokage-sama-"

"It's quite alright, Umino-kun." says the hokage, thumbs pressed into his eyes. The man sighs, before looking at Naruto with a raised brow.

"Something else, huh… Well, I suppose I could allow you to help clean out some of the archives…"

"No! Something _cool_!" Naruto vehemently objects, scowling.

The third opens his mouth to retort, but there's a scrabbling noise at the open window, and everyone zeroes in on it, hands going to their kunai in reflex.

Two black ears peek up from the window, followed by a fluffy back head. Miso hauls herself into the room, deftly landing on the floor of the office. She seems unbothered by all the attention she's receiving, merely meowing at Naruto and plodding over to the boy.

Everyone is silent as Miso sits at Naruto's feet, tail curled as she meows insistently up him. Naruto's face twitches, and though Naruto kinda wants to be mad at her, his lips curl upwards instead. The cat's butt wiggles and she leaps up, clinging painfully to Naruto's jumpsuit and grappling her way up onto Naruto's shoulders. Naruto squeaks, feeling sharp claws dig into his skin, but makes no move to remove her from his shoulders.

Miso settles on draping herself across Naruto's shoulder and attempting to eat the blonde strands at the nape of Naruto's neck.

The hokage closes his eyes, forcibly exhaling through his nose, and counts to ten. The older man sighs, saying nothing.

Iruka puts his head in his hands, a long groan escaping his throat.

Kakashi gives up.

"Fine. Fine!" The third grunts. "Fine. If you want a C-rank, I've got one for you! It shouldn't be too hard, just escorting a bridge builder back to Wave territory, but there is a possibility of bandits."

"Bandits?!" Naruto crows, eyes sparkling.

"Not a very high chance, mind you. Don't get your hopes up, Naruto, you may just get what you want." The hokage warns, taking a long drag of his pipe.

Naruto ignores him, shouting in success.

Behind him, Sakura and Sasuke, who'd been watching the proceedings silently, lock eyes for a moment, before surreptitiously giving each other a high-five.

Their hopes are shattered, however, when in stumbles an old, grumpy man. He sways on his feet, his face droopy, and it's obvious to everyone in the room that the man has been drinking.

"Hah?!" the man sneers, peering at team seven with a harsh eye, "This is all you've got? Three kids and a lazy-lookin' jounin? What's that even supposed to be? Some weird lookin' rat?"

Naruto bristles, lip-curling in anger, he opens his mouth to insult the drunk in return, but Sakura slaps a hand over his mouth, hissing in Naruto's ear something about "being professional" and "losing a client".

The hokage just raises an eyebrow at the man, steepling his fingers. "I assure you, my ninja are fully qualified to handle your request. After all, it is _just_ bandits, yes?"

The bridge builder's jaw snaps shut, and the man blinks. "Uh- yea, just the bandits."

"Then there should be no issue, correct?"

Hastily, the drunk man nods.

"Good." The hokage smiles, turning his attention back towards team seven. "Report to the front gates tomorrow morning by seven. Don't be late. Dismissed."

* * *

"That jerk!" Naruto rants, taking Miso's replying meow as an affirmation in his opinion. "Can ya believe 'im? Walkin' in the room drunk an' then insulting _us?_ He called you a rat! I won't be sorry if he _is_ killed by bandits on the way there! Not at all!"

Miso just headbutts his hand.

The genin lets out a long sigh of frustration, scratching Miso behind her ear and rising from where he was crouched to flop backward onto his bed. He grumbles for a while longer, still in his ninja attire, glaring up at the ceiling as if it had personally offended him.

"At least it's somethin'." Naruto scowls. "My ramen money has been low recently, and I'm a genin now! I should be able to buy _more_ ramen, not less!"

Miso says nothing. She only jumps onto the bed, kneads at Naruto's chest, and lays down, rumbly purrs beginning to fill the room.

"Yea yea, I know, and more Kitty's Select: Salmon Bites for you."

* * *

Version 3.0, posted on 7/19/18.

As always, if you want to see more of me or my writing, (especially if you want frequent updates about scheduling and where a chapter is at) my tumblr is ekourege. I hope you enjoyed this one, even if it's short and lackadasical.


	5. It's only down from here!

Title: Companion

Chapter 5

Fandom: Naruto

Pairings: N/A, Gen

Summary: For the first eight years of Naruto's life, he was completely and utterly alone. When Naruto entered his apartment, no one welcomed his arrival. No one came home to see him after a long day of work, and he didn't have a single friend. Contact with people was sporadic, and ultimately, loneliness was his only constant companion.

Then, Naruto isn't alone anymore. He's still an orphan, still hated by the village at large and without a friend, but he's not alone, even if his companion isn't even human.

* * *

I LIED I LIED I LIED, SHIT GETS LONG FROM HERE ON OUT. OKAY, THIS ENDED UP LONG WHAT THE FUCK?

I am… a fool. In my outline, it has the fewest plot points. But it seems that I just… forgot how much content was in the wave arc? So I ended up skimming the whole thing in my outline. So here we are, with a 9k chapter. In comparison to the fucking. last chapter, which was pretty mediocre and like, 2.3k.

I'll be going back through and reediting that chapter btw, so be on the lookout for that.

It's okay though, at least now that it's longer it evens out the lengths of all future chapters. chapters. All chapters after 6 will be… massive and full of content and action, just as planned. I can't say we're gonna be getting anywhere near shippuden by the end of this fic, but that's not the point, so does it really matter? (Though chapter six might be shorter than this one. MIGHT BE. Don't quote me on that.)

Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto's house was a mess. Drawers had been thrown open and mercilessly gutted. The cabinets hung open, pots and pans sat on the counter from where Naruto had pulled them out, having vaguely recalled a lesson on camping. Socks and underwear were strewn across the floor, along with packs of kunai, a single pack of senbon, and bunches of clothing interspersed with random trinkets.

In the epicenter of the chaos, sits Naruto, glaring down at his half-packed bag.

"Miso, what do _you_ think we should pack? 'Cause I'm outta ideas and I don't think we've packed enough yet," Naruto grumbles, cheek squashed from where his fist presses into it.

Miso, perking up at the sound of her name, swivels wide eyes towards him, the end of her tail waving. Then, just as soon as Naruto catches her attention, he loses it, and Miso goes back to fighting with an old, hole-riddled sock.

Naruto huffs. "Figures." He looks back towards his bag again, recounting what he's packed thus far. "Undershirts, underwear, chopsticks, socks, cat kibble…" he mumbles, attempting to conjure up an excuse to pack more.

"Maybe I should bring my alarm clock? ...Nah. Sensei'll get me up, probably…"

* * *

Shakily, Naruto locked up his apartment, twisting the key until he heard the lock click. He stood there for a single moment, attempting to calm his bubbling nerves, a shrill anticipation causing his heart to pound and his arms to shake.

Leaning down to haul Miso into his arms, ignoring her noise of discontent, Naruto gulped.

"Well, better get goin'." Naruto said. Then, he squared his shoulders, set his eyebrows firm and took off towards the gates, taking the steps of his apartment building two at a time. He swung around corners, trying not to run and jostle Miso too much, but unable to go any slower than an awkward power walk. He veered by the academy gates, narrowly avoiding food carts and people meandering along the streets, winding his way through the maze-like village with ease.

(He ignored the glares that burnt holes into him every time he came just an inch too close to touching someone, like even the slightest brush of his bag against their person was like cutting razors, like a noxious poison that would injure them with the slightest graze.)

When the gates are in view, Naruto speeds up, whispering a hushed apology to a yowling Miso as he makes a beeline for the gates. He finds himself nearly breathless from all of his hurrying. He's about to call out a greeting and announce his arrival when Miso takes the opportunity to strike.

As soon as he pauses in his near jog, Miso lunges. He tail lashes violently as she sinks her teeth into his ear, paws batting at his face with unclipped claws. Naruto shrieks, howling at the puffy, irritated sensation that radiates from each point of contact.

"Ow, Miso!" Naruto hisses, forcefully detaching her from his face. Her ears are folded back, and as soon as he gazes at her with utmost betrayal, Miso demands to be let down from his arms. She struggles in his hold, wiggling and flailing, attempting to launch herself from his arms. Fortunately, Naruto manages to keep his grip on her, tightening his arms at the very last moment and stopping her escape attempt. She fidgets and growls, and Naruto panics as he tries to calm her down.

In the end, he's forced to give up, sighing as he releases his hold on her, allowing Miso to dive for the ground. Naruto takes a moment to itch his newly received battle scars and adjusts the travel pack hanging from his shoulders.

Naruto is untwisting one of the straps when someone loudly clears their throat, drawing his attention towards the source of the noise. He wishes he'd ignored it. Because when he looks up, he finds himself looking into the poignantly blank eyes of his sensei.

He'd forgotten that they were even _there_ , so wrapped up in Miso's freakout that their presence had slipped his mind.

Naruto flushes, face growing hot up to the tips of his ears and threatening to redden even his neck. Sasuke very pointedly avoids looking anywhere at him, edging away from the group in a not-so-subtle attempt to appear as though he doesn't know him. Kakashi has a single brow raised, obviously attempting to appear unaffected, but Naruto sees the way his eyes tighten in annoyance and his shoulders slump. Sakura, on the other hand… even though Naruto can see very little of her face, obscured by her hand as it was, looks ready to commit murder. The hand not covering her face is clenched, shaking under the force of her anger. She looks ready to jump him.

Then there's the client, Tazuna. The old man merely looks at him as if he were a bug, poorly concealed disdain set into the lines of his aged face. He quickly looks away from the scene of Naruto's mortification, uncorking a fresh bottle of alcohol and taking a heavy swig.

Naruto, face burning, glares down at Miso. She seems to have calmed down from her temper tantrum and is now licking his pants in some sort of half-hearted apology. As punishment for her crimes, he ignores her. Instead, Naruto attempts to will the blush from his face, skipping towards the group as if he hadn't just made a complete fool of himself. Miso chitters at him but dutifully trots behind him anyway, to which Naruto breathes a mental sigh of relief.

He'd die if Miso had just wandered off, leaving Naruto to go on a wild goose chase in pursuit of his wayward partner.

Instead of apologizing to them, or mentioning what had just occurred, Naruto deigns to turn the ensuing conversation into something familiar, mundane.

"We've arrived, and I'm _not_ late!" Naruto crows, puffing out his chest and hitting them with a strong thumbs up.

"Only barely, Naruto. Good ninja are always on time, or even slightly early. Besides… it looks like you're having troubles with Miso. Don't you think you should leave her here, then?" Kakashi informs him, rubbing his chin in mock contemplation.

"Says you!" Naruto retorts, indignant that _iKakashi/i_ , of all people, would try to advise him on being timely. "Besides, she's calm now! She just... doesn't like being jostled is all. She's still comin' with us." To prove his point, he points to Miso, who's sitting near Naruto's feet, cleaning a paw.

Before Kakashi can reply to Naruto's accusation (And try to ban Miso, _again_.), Sakura growls. Her initial embarrassment haven given way to anger, and both of her fists clench from where they're stiff at her sides.

Naruto swallows heavily, mouth going dry as he takes a slight step backward.

Sakura spots his hesitation, and breaks. "Naruto! Why can't you just leave your dumb cat at home?! You've already embarrassed us enough as it is! For once in your life, can't you use your empty skull and get serious already?!" she rants, arms shaking. Her foot slides forwards, obviously to reinforce her words physically.

Normally, such a display would leave him suitably cowed. But the thought of being separated from Miso for extensive amounts of time, so soon after they'd been forcibly separated only a couple weeks before, made his chest hurt. Almost like his heart was being squeezed in a vice grip. He'd fight for this, sink his teeth into his resolve and latch onto it for dear life. He'd be damned if anyone tried to pry Miso away from him, especially when there was no real reason to!

Naruto balls his fist, shouting, "Sakura-chan, _take that back_! Miso is _not_ dumb! 'Sides, what do you care what that drunkard thinks... he's done nothing but drink for the entire time we've known 'im!" To emphasize his point, he gestures to where Tazuna is stood, his bottle of alcohol already half empty.

Sakura takes another step forward, mouth open to retort something obviously scathing, but Tazuna cuts her off, snorting. "Hah! With you brats around? I'd be surprised if I didn't drink. 'Fully capable' my _ass_ , you poor excuses for ninja couldn't lift a finger against a snail, let alone a _real_ threat."

"All right, that's enough." Kakashi sighs, slotting himself neatly between Naruto and Tazuna. He points to Naruto. "Stop arguing with the client. For that, you'll be walking in the back - the furthest away from Tazuna-san." he then gestures to both Sakura and Sasuke, dispelling any notion of Sasuke's escape and Sakura yelling at Naruto any longer. "You two are on either side of him. We're taking diamond formation, so I'll be in front. That way I'll be the first to see any threats coming."

Tazuna grunts, but stays quiet, turning away from Naruto and proceeding to ignore him. As Sakura and Sasuke pass him up to take their places in the formation, Sasuke hisses "Nice going, idiot." in his direction, lips curled downwards. Naruto is indignant, face twisting, but before he can even think up a reply, Sakura cuffs him upside the head. They both stalk forward, the group descending into tense silence.

Naruto glares at the ground, fists curling and uncurling. He forces himself to release a long, slow exhale, before he bends over, scooping Miso up into his arms. He steps forward and takes his position at the rear of the group, fiddling with Miso's bandana and resolutely not facing the group.

... This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

"So," Naruto begins, tentatively attempting to break the silence; His distaste for the man momentarily forgotten in favor of dispelling his mounting boredom. "What d'ya even do? Like, I know you build bridges but what does that even _mean_?"

The bridge builder in question turns to look at Naruto from over his shoulder. "You mean ya don't even know that? Well, it's simple. I'm a master bridge builder - and that means people come from far an' wide to pay me to make stuff for 'em."

"That so? Ya don't look like much to me." Naruto accuses.

"Brat," Tazuna grumbles.

Sakura takes this moment to interject. "Tazuna-san… if you're a bridge builder… then why are you so worried about bandits? I don't mean to be rude but you're not… a merchant or something. Why would bandits want to attack one man with barely anything on him?"

The man clenches his fist. "Bandits will attack anyone these days! Can barely rely on you ninja to keep anyone safe as it is! Didn't ya hear me the first time? I said I was a master bridge builder, meaning there are plenty'a villains out there willing to nab me!" Tazuna pauses in his ranting, confidence seeming to waver. "Better safe than sorry. Even if ya are a bunch of sorry excuses for ninja."

"Are not!" Naruto denies, gritting his teeth. Sakura just shakes her head, sighing before going back to peering into the forest. Sasuke looks the bridge builder up and down, lips curled in thinly veiled disgust. He mutters something under his breath and then stares determinedly ahead.

Kakashi simply ignores them, having whipped his erotica novel out a few minutes into the journey and promptly burying his nose into it.

The travelers are plunged into silence, and Naruto distracts himself by stroking Miso's fur, delighting in the small, sporadic purrs she gifts him with. Miso always manages to up his mood, even when she was the cause of it dropping in the first place. Whether or not that be by chewing through one of his socks, laying on his face as he slept, or zooming through his apartment at ungodly hours, Miso managed to be both a great friend and a menace.

Naruto grins and scratches under her chin, eyes softening when Miso chirps at him, pressing her face down onto his hand as if to extract more of the sensation from him.

"Hey, sensei. Wanna play "I spy"?"

"No, Naruto, focus on guarding the Tazuna-san."

Naruto frowns. "Then can we take a break? I have to feed Miso soon."

Miso lets out a meow of agreement. "See?" Naruto says.

Kakashi sighs. " _No_ , Naruto."

Naruto pouts.

* * *

He hadn't been paying attention, admittedly.

Naruto had been so engrossed in his own boredom and his subsequent attempts at alleviating it, that he'd completely missed all the signs of an attack - the way Kakashi had suddenly tensed, a single eyebrow raised, or the way that Miso had begun to fidget and flail, fur raised and teeth barred for absolutely no reason that he could see. Though to be fair, his teammates had also been ignorant of what was to come, their minds world away from the present.

The attack was sudden. One moment the group was trailing down the road, only the expanse in front of them and sound of their scuffling feet to guide them, then the next there was wild, dark laughter, and the metallic jostle of chains as two ninja jumped out of an inconspicuous puddle.

...It hadn't rained in nearly two days. Naruto hadn't noticed.

It didn't matter either way. Naruto frantically backpedaled, angling Miso away from the glinting weapons the two used. Miso had gone stiff and frightened in his arms, curled up with ehr fur fully fluffed.

The duo (The Demon Brothers, actually a pair of B-rank missing nin) - lunged for Kakashi, chain weapons thrown towards Kakashi before anyone had even the chance to blink. The chains wrapped around Kakashi firmly, trapping his arms to his sides.

With Kakashi unable to move and defend himself properly, or even grab a single kunai to defend himself with, the brothers aimed the sickle ends of the weapon at the jounin, attempting to end his life right then and there.

Naruto made to cry out, stepping forward as if about to sprint towards the man and take on both enemies himself, but at the last possible moment… Kakashi disappeared, gone like he'd never even been there in the first place, leaving nothing but scattered smoke behind.

 _'A clone?!i_ Naruto thought, shocked as he watched the ends of the weapons knock into each other, becoming tangled. The enemy ninja blinked, surprised to see their target suddenly gone when he was within their grasp just a moment before. They looked at each other, shrugged, and then turned their attention towards the rest of Naruto's group.

Naruto flinched, eyes dilating in his fear, while Sasuke jumped away from the group and into the treeline - escaping their notice. Sakura simply stood there, shaking like a leaf. A kunai in her hand as she stood in front of Tazun, her defense of the man like paper against the wind, thin and easy to tear.

Suddenly, the enemy ninja moved again, splitting off from each other. One headed straight for Sakura and the other lunging towards Naruto, eyes wide and elated. Naruto jerked back, spinning on his heel as he narrowly dodged a kunai aimed for this head. Naruto reaffirms his grip on Miso, shoving her higher into one arm so as to free up the other. Hs freed hand slips a kunai out of the pouch attached to his leg. Then Naruto, who'd been attempting to put some distance between himself and the missing nin, spun around to face the man.

He had his kunai angled in front of him, widening his stance as Naruto prepared to meet the ninja head on, his brows furrowed. The missing nin lunged, chain extending from his gauntlet to try and catch Naruto in its grip. Naruto swiped at the chain with his kunai, releasing his grip on it to avoid any chance of getting cut by spikes on the links.

The ninja yanked the chain back from where it had been pushed off course, and Naruto took the opportunity to jump further backward, still angling Miso away from the man.

Naruto scowled at the enemy ninja as he began to laugh, the sound grating and mocking on Naruto's ears, and was suddenly nailed in the back of a head with the blunt end of a kunai. The ninja flinched violently, swaying as he swirled around to snarl at whoever threw it. The ninja flung the chain on his gauntlet again as he did so, arm extended outwards, but, when the man whipped around fully, he was met with the full force of a katon jutsu.

Naruto watched as the ninja was engulfed in flames, the missing nin letting out a high-pitched shriek as the fire at his clothing and burnt his skin. He was frozen, eyes glued to the unfolding horrors of a burning human, patting frantically at his clothing in a futile attempt to put out the flames. In front of the enemy stood Sasuke, an imperious expression carved into his self-satisfied face, as if he couldn't hear the way the man coughed and hacked and groaned in pain.

The area smelt of burning flesh, and despite having attacked them, Naruto couldn't help but feel pity for the man, gazing on in horror as the enemy collapsed, clothes smoldering.

Naruto's stomach heaved a little, nausea flaring up for a moment, but he forced himself to hold it down, turning his attention towards where Sakura and Tazuna stood. Tazuna appeared slightly spooked but ultimately unharmed, and Naruto released a sigh of relief that their first C-rank hadn't yet ended in failure. The other ninja that had attacked their group was tied with his own chains, looking beat up and slightly charred.

It was over. No one had died.

… Except that didn't explain where Kakashi was, the jounin still missing. Naruto took a moment to scan their surroundings for any hint of an erotica novel or spiked silver hair, but he found nothing. He jogs up to the group, pointedly ignoring Sasuke (Who, in turn, ignored him back.).

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cries. "Are you okay?!" He fidgets in front of her, light on the balls of his feet as he nearly dances around her, worry making him jittery.

"I'm fine." Sakura snaps, sighing and eyeing Naruto warily if he danced too close into her personal space. "Besides, we've got bigger problems to deal with. Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke grunts, looking wholy unbothered further than his usual pensiveness. Naruto scowls. Then, his face scrunches, mind suddenly remembering that there was an i' _important issue to be dealt with'./i_ He turns his attention back towards Sakura, confusion visible.

"Huh? What d'ya mean? Those ninja are all taken care of now!"

Sakura groans, tapping her foot impatiently, as if Naruto were a particularly slow child. "Sensei is gone, you idiot! He's got the map, and without it we're walking blind!"

Naruto lets out an ' _ohhh'_ in realization, expression shifting to one of panic, just as Tazuna awkwardly clears his throat.

"I've, er, got a map on me. We're goin' to Wave, also, and I know the routes there real well, anyway, Half to if ya wanna navigate this thrice-damned continent without dying by bandits."

Sakura immediately brightens, and even Sasuke's pensiveness lightens a little. "Oh! Then we can just use that, then!" Sakura says happily, before glancing shyly at Sasuke. "I vote that Sasuke-kun takes the lead."

Sasuke appears unamused and shuts down the idea with a sharp, monotone, "No."

Sakura deflates, and Naruto takes this as his chance to jump in. "I'll do it, Sakura-chan! I can probably read the map better than he ever could, anyway!"

Sakura scowls in disgust. "No, you'll probably just get us lost! I'll do it, since Sasuke-kun doesn't want to right now."

In the background, Tazuna puts his hands over his eyes, looking exhausted.

Naruto, on the other hand, tries not to feel too hurt by her words, holding Miso even closer than he was during the battle. Miso, of course, baps him on the arm for the tight grip, before settling down, her tail flicking in irritation. He grins, smile small, but undoubtedly there as he tries to drum up some sort of positivity. His eyes catch on the missing ninja, and he points back towards them with his thumb. "Shouldn't we, uh, tie these jerks up so they can't come after us again? They seemed to want to kill us pretty bad."

Tazuna raises his eyebrows, gazing at Naruto with newfound consideration. "Huh, seems your head's on better than I thought. Yeah, tie 'em to a tree or somethin'. If ya don't do it well enough and I end up dyin' it's comin' outta _your_ paychecks."

The trio simply nod in near unison, approaching the fallen ninja. Naruto figures they can just use the chains the two were flinging around during the attack, shrugging and trying not to breathe in the smell of burnt skin too much. Before he approaches them fully, he places Miso on the ground for the first time since the journey started. Miso immediately skitters away from him, plopping down a little ways away to groom her mused fur.

Naruto leans down to pick up one of the chains, the metal heavy and thick in his hands - which were rather small in comparison, Naruto notes with irritation - when he accidentally nicks his finger on one of the sharp spikes attached to the links. He hisses in pain, dropping the chain with a _shclink!_ as he attempts to shake the pain away.

Then, a familiar voice rings out "All I'm good for is a having a map? Is that all I mean you guys? I have to say… I'm hurt by that! You all should show me some respect, I'm your precious sensei after all!" Kakashi touches down onto the roading, landing in a crouch. His porn book is open, and his expression one of mock hurt as he casually straightens himself out.

"Uh huh…" Sakura voices, dubious, nonplussed by his flippant attitude and faked melodrama.

Sasuke just scowls and turns away.

"Tch. You're useless, is what you are," Sasuke mutters, stalking away from the group to lean against a tree just down the road.

Naruto is tempted to berate the man for disappearing and leaving them to fight for their lives by themselves, but he stops himself, exhaling heavily through his nose.

Kakashi sighs, shrugging his shoulders before directing his attention towards Naruto, pointing at his cut finger. "Oh, and Naruto - The chains are poisoned."

"Seriously?!" Naruto shouts, cold anxiety washing over him. Naruto grabs his finger, squeezing the wound between his fingers. There's blood beading at the seam of it, but it's not enough to prevent any ill-effects of being poisoned. Quickly, Naruto reaches into his kunai pouch for the second time that day, snatching up one of his newer, cleaner pieces.

With shaking hands, he then digs the tip of the kunai into the cut, widening the wound and causing his finger tip to bleed profusely.

He's barely able to withhold the whimper of pain that bubbles up in hs throat as he does it, grunting harshly as a few, heavy tears squeeze their way out of his tear ducts. Naruto drops the kunai immediately after, practically throwing it to the ground. He swallows, throat dry as he angles the wound downward, letting gravity push the infected blood out of the wound and to drip onto the ground.

All that pain just to ensure the poison stayed out of his bloodstream, and even this wasn't guaranteed.

 _'This is the worst mission ever,'_ Naruto thinks, using his other hands to wipe away any stray tears.

Naruto glances over at Kakashi. "Will that do it?" He asks, wincing, his voice smaller than usual. He hopes no one notices, even if he's absolutely certain they do.

Kakashi simply hands Naruto a roll of bandages, directing him to go wrap the wound only when the blood flow has slowed down. Miso pads up to Naruto, headbutting his leg and rumbling slightly, as if trying to comfort him.

Miso always seemed to know when he was sad, or in pain. She always came running whenever Naruto had cried, meowing and slotting herself into his space. Naruto smiled down at her, shakily, and leaned down to pet her, transferring his roll to his bleeding hand. He kept it tucked under his thumb so the blood wouldn't dry into the bandages, hand still angled downwards. Miso's purring grows louder, nearly gaining on "broken muffler" levels. She headbutts his leg more, pawing at his pants.

With the battle done, and a brief moment where Kakashi tried to grill Tazuna, they continue on their way to Wave country, a little less pleased with their first C-rank and an inkling of dread growing in their chests.

* * *

"Tazuna-san. A fear of bandit attacks isn't what prompted you to hire a team of a ninja for protection, is it?" Kakashi begins, merely an hour or so out from where they'd been attacked.

Tazuna jolts from where he was walking, spluttering. "Of course it was! Just an hour ago, we were attacked!"

Kakashi side-eyed Tazuna, unconvinced. "But those weren't bandits. They were missing nin, and they were after you, specifically. Care to tell me about why that could be?" And, as if to make sure the man knew that it wasn't a suggestion, airly adds, "Otherwise, I'll have to report back to the village that you fraudulently downplayed the threat-level of this mission, meaning the mission's legitimacy will be called into question, and my team and I will be forced to abandon the mission." The jounin then shrugged and shook his head, not even glancing back at Tazuna.

Tazuna slows to a stop midway through Kakashi's threat, the light tone feeling more like the sharp end of a kunai rather than the casual facade the words wore. The old man was quivering slightly, his brows furrowed in indecision. Then, the tension in the man's shoulders dropped, released in a long exhale. "I get it, I get it. It's… not just bandits. Well, you _icould/i_ call 'em bandits, really. Ya see, a shipping company moved into Wave country not even five years ago, and they've sucked the country dry ever since.

His name's Gato, and he's imposed a monopoly on the entire country, and he's controllin' even the ports. Nothing's gettin' in, and only our resources are going out, and into that damned Gato's pockets. It seems hopeless, 'cept for the fact that I'm a bridge builder, and buildin' a bridge from wave to the mainland would break Gato's monopoly, and open up trading routes. I've been tryin' to finish it for months, but Gato's hired gangs of shinobi to attack and threaten me and my workers. We've been runnin' out of options, so I hired you to guard me while I finish the damned thing." He says, an undercurrent of rage threading his words. His face, however, tells a different story, his expression one of exhaustion and shame - as if it were his fault that such a villainous man dug his claws into an entire country.

Kakashi simply blinks. "Huh, well. That makes a lot of sense."

Tazuna hangs his head. "It's affected even my family, despite my skill as a craftsman. We've barely got anything left, so I had no choice but to lie, you understand?"

Naruto does, if only vaguely. While he has no idea what it was like to watch your entire country be… eaten away at like that - Konoha has always been strong, seemingly invincible, and so Naruto never worried - he does know what it was like to push and push and push, and end up thwarted every time; he knows intimately the sting of failure and the cloying feeling of helplessness that digs into his chest cavity and nearly stole both his breath and his will to fight- his will to _try._ Something flares in his chest, his throat closing in sympathy for the man.

Kakashi's expression is flat, betraying no real emotion, only smooth indifference, and bleak professionalism. "Ah, so that was it. Well, Tazuna-san, I understand the circumstances you're under are… pressing. But that's big enough that I'll have to terminate this mission, likely. It's too dangerous for those of genin rank to undertake."

Something in Naruto recoils at his sensei's words, all the guiding forces in his brain screaming ' _no!'_ in unison. Despite his deceit, despite his nearly getting them all killed... Naruto wants to help the man, to see the mission through. He couldn't live with himself if he just abandoned someone in need, _especially_ when they were midway through a mission.

Genin or not, qualified or not, deadly or _not -_ he wants to help Tazuna finish his bridge, and save his country. The sparse explanation of his situation was enough to convince him, the weight of commitment nestling deep into Naruto's mind and gripping with all its might.

Miso seems to think the same, because one moment she was chittering a bug on a nearby bush, crouched and ready to pounce on it, and the next she bounds ahead, meowing up at the man. She winds herself around his legs, tail fluffed and eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Naruto, despite not having done anything, feels immensely smug as Tazuna hesitantly reaches down to give her a good scratch behind the ears, looking delighted at the affectionate purr he received in turn, guarded as his expression was. Miso wasn't useless, Naruto knew. She's a very good judge of character, and she always knows just what to do to cheer someone (usually him) up.

Pride balloons in his chest and he grins as Tazuna awkwardly picks Miso up, cradling her like he would a baby.

"Kakashi-sensei, I've decided! We're gonna help Tazuna build his bridge! Miso thinks so, too, otherwise, she woulda ignored him!" Naruto blurts, grin determined.

Sakura and Sasuke both seem to agree because soon after his hasty attempts to urge Kakashi into continuing the mission, they chime in with equally steely resolve.

"Sensei, we _have_ to help him!" Sakura snarls, clenching her fists. There's something burning in her eyes, and whether it's smoldering anger or the manifestation of the same feelings Naruto is experiencing is hard to parse through. Sasuke's expression is more flippant than that of Sakura or Naruto's, but there's a sort of set look to it. A slight furrow in his eyebrows; a tight set to his face. His agreement is, of course, scathing as always, but Naruto takes it as a minor victory (and evidence of his own awesomeness. Not to brag or anything, but he _is_ absolutely awesome. At this rate, he'll be Hokage in no time!).

Sasuke angles his head downwards, locking eyes with Kakashi. "I agree with the idiot, for once. We'd be cowards for turning back when things got dangerous, plus aren't you supposed to be helping us get more experience, _sensei?_ "

Naruto's grin grows wider, nearly splitting his face in half as he crosses his arms in triumph.

Kakashi glances between Tazuna, adamantly avoiding looking anywhere other than Miso, who is trying to bite the index finger being wiggled in front of her, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto for several moments. The jounin takes a moment to sigh, put-upon before he gives in. "Fine. Fine! But I'll be letting the hokage know the change in mission parameters, and if he chooses to pull us out of the mission, we're going back to Konoha."

Sasuke raises a brow. "For someone who seemingly hates rules… you sure do like to follow them, don't you, Kakashi?"

Kakashi pouts slightly. "Harsh… You could at least call me sensei..." he mutters, mock-offended.

Naruto sticks his tongue out at the jounin.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity among row after row of trees and winding dirt roads, they could finally see, in the far-off distance, a break in the treeline and a long stretch of blue.

The ocean. They're nearly to the Land of Waves, nearly to where Gato and his army of mercenary nin were.

Naruto, outwardly, hopes this would go smoothly, but inwardly… he's kind of hoping for things to go terribly, horribly wrong.

Not because he wants to see anyone hurt or killed, but because some part of him wanted to get into one of those standoffs he'd always heard stories about as a child, of high stakes and the adrenaline rush, of the spark of crashing kunai and footprints of jutsu fired off at a rapid pace as ninja tried to one-up each other, to keep pace until the other tires, to overcome and _conquer_.

Despite the anticipation drumming up in a slow crescendo, Naruto finds himself jittery with nerves, mind nearly on overdrive every time something moves wrong, or a weird sound reaches his ears. He finds himself flinching more often, and has, on multiple occasions, to scoop Miso up and bury his face into her fur, trying to calm himself down by absorbing the extremely casual energies of his cat, who obviously has no clue what kind of death trap they're walking into. Then, once he finds his anxiety levels dropping to something more manageable he adjusts Miso's bandana and plops her back onto the ground.

Soon enough, they broke past the trees and have made it to the shoreline. Naruto can't help but cheer, even as Miso startles and skitters away from him, her ears folded back. Sheepishly, he apologizes for startling her, stroking her fur. Mollified, she turns away from him, stalking forward to investigate the ocean.

Naruto watches as she bounds towards the water, tail straight up. She bends down and sniffs at the foamy waves, her whiskers twitching. Then, the waves come rushing back onto the shore, splashing the cat right in the face. Miso yowls, flinging herself backward in an unhappy, startled motion.

He can't help it, he laughs, giggling at Miso's plight, even as she skulks towards him, unwilling to risk getting close enough to get wet again. Judging by the light chortles he hears from behind him, the others found it just as amusing as he had.

However, the lighthearted mood is quickly overtaken by a heavy tension. There's a looming fog in the distance, and there is no one in sight, despite the fact there are (presumably) abandoned boats lining the shore and floating freely in the water. Tazuna has pulled his hat over his eyes, the visible slivers of his face solemn and withdrawn. Naruto notices how his posture becomes more hunched and tired, as if the old man was suddenly feeling all the weight of his years.

"Where are all the people?" Sakura asks, oblivious to the obvious pain on the bridge builder's face.

Voice pinched, the elderly man replies. "Chased out of this area. It's just a ship graveyard, now."

"Wave country is just off the shore here, right? If no one is using these boats, the couldn't we take one and cross over that way?"

Tazuna sighs as if everyone around him is an idiot and he's the only one on the planet with any sort of common sense. Naruto is already bristling, about to rise to Sakura's defense. Sakura seems right, after all! They could just jab a boat and ride across, and yet they were all just standing around, doing nothing when they could be going and kicking Gato's ass!

"These boats are old an' broken, who knows what's up with them. Plus, with the fog surroundin' the island, you gotta have some sort of experience with it, 'else you'll get lost and wreck your ship. Death awaits the fools who try and cross without knowin' what they're doing."

Sakura has nothing to say to that.

Naruto does.

"Huh?!" He shouts. "Then how're we supposed to get across?!" Naruto gestures to the foggy expanse of water in front of them, and back to their group, multiple times.

Tazuna groans, face palming. "Quiet down, you punk! This area is infested with Gato's goons, and I don't need ya lettin' the entire coastline know we're here! An' just so ya know, I've got plenty'a connections, so obviously someone is gonna be taking us to the island personally."

Naruto scowls. "Are you sure you're not still drunk or somethin'? There's no one around! It's just us here!"

He pointedly does not address the other parts of Tazuna's retort, effortlessly slotting the information into his brain, and ignoring to need for a response. Sasuke rolls his eyes at their antics, snorting.

Naruto glares at him, daring Sasuke to utter even a single word.

Sasuke ignores him. Naruto glares harder.

Tazuna scoffs. "Brat. Gato's got eyes _everywhere_ around here, just shut up and listen to what I say, damn it!"

Naruto opens his jaw to yell at Tazuna again, just because the man called him a brat and Naruto can admit he's easily riled and kind of petty, but Kakashi interjects before things can escalate any further.

"So… is that who is going to be taking us across, Tazuna-san?" Kakashi says, fingered aimed straight ahead, from where a shaded, fogged figure grows closer.

Tazuna whips his head around, towards where Kakashi was pointing. The old man leans forward, squinting and adjusting his glasses in an effort to see the figure better. His efforts are to no avail, until a figure exits the fog fully, revealing a man in a rowboat, wearing the same kind of hat Tazuna was.

"Yea, that's him!" Tazuna says, gesturing the man on the boat forward.

Naruto, knowing that it's unlikely Miso would stay still for the entirety of the boat ride, approaches his cat, who was attempting to clean the water off her paws, and picks her up. Her fur is still wet, but Naruto ignores it in favor of clutching her to his chest, despite her displeased meows. Her tail curls, even as the tip of it flicks, and Naruto finds Miso clinging onto him for dear life.

Distracted as he was by tending to his cat, Naruto misses the exchange between Tazuna and the boatsman, only rejoining the others and tuning in when it was time to board the ship. It was nothing much, just a small wooden rowboat. It seemed to have enough space for their team to ride on, but it'd be a bit of a tight fit, especially with all their belongings on board. Regardless, Naruto gingerly stepped onto the boat, wincing slightly as Miso dug her claws deeper into his shoulder. Her ears were pressed flat to her head, eyes slit as they flicked from side to side, trying to gauge the danger she was in.

' _Now she gets it…'_ Naruto thinks, bemused. He's sorely tempted to pry Miso's claws out of his shoulder, but he knows that might make her freak, and she might end up flinging herself off the boat in panic. It's best that he let her cling to him. As he settles down at the front of the boat, stroking Miso's fur in an effort to console her, he takes a moment to actually look at the person manning the boat.

His face is pale, drawn in and gaunt. Whether it be from the general sense of anxiety the man radiates or from malnourishment, Naruto doesn't know. What he does know is that the man's posture is hunched, unsure and shaky, as if at any moment he'd boot them off the boat and high-tail it back to Wave without them. There are bags under his eyes and his brows are furrowed, a permanent frown etched into the stress lines of his face.

Naruto decides he no longer wants to look at the man's downtrodden visage, and looks resolutely ahead, trying to peer through the thick clouds of fog obscuring his vision.

During this time, Tazuna, Kakashi, and the boatsman make quiet conversation, keeping their voices low enough that Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto are unable to hear. Naruto strains and tries to listen in without getting caught, but to no avail. Sighing, Naruto gives up and decides to finish out a cat toy from his bag.

Miso, of course, is delighted. Sufficiently distracted from the rocking of the boat, her pupils go round as dinner plates, and she chitters at the toy he holds just out of reach, batting at it with newly dried paws. Naruto nearly cries in relief, the pressure on his shoulder relieved. Instead of spontaneously bursting into tears, however, Naruto jiggles the stick a little, smirking as Miso jumps and chatters at the toy, tail lashing in interest.

"A nin-cat, huh? Yeah _right_." Sasuke scoffs. He's leaning against the walls of the boat, arm slung over the side of it. He smirks down at Naruto as if he's somehow got something over him, is somehow _better_ than him. It makes his skin crawl, and he prickles in anger, a white-hot flash of anger in his chest.

"Yeah, that's right! She is a nin-cat! You got somethin' to say about it, you jerk?!" Naruto retorts, a snarl on his face.

" _Quiet down_ ," the boatsman hisses, eyes flicking from one side to the other as if something would appear out of the fog and eat them all at any moment.

Naruto's face twists, but he lowers his snarl into an offended hiss at Sasuke's next scathing insult.

"Just that it acts like an entirely _normal_ house cat. Its got no powers or ninja skills to speak of… in fact, it's been entirely useless on this mission so far, or even a hinderance."

Sakura pipes up before Naruto can get a word in edgewise, chiming in to agree with Sasuke. "Yeah! Sasuke-kun is right! She's entirely useless! All she's done is eat and meow at us this entire time. At this rate, she'll get killed or lost somewhere in Wave! I don't know why you even brought her along."

Naruto gasps, slack jawed that she'd even _say_ that. Naruto clenches his fist around the toy, not bothering to remove it from Miso's grasp. There's a burning in his eyes, and his throat feels tight as he struggles to form words, form some sort of retort to portray the _hurt_ he feels.

Why does it always end up like this?

Both of them know how Naruto feels about losing Miso. They know, they've seen it. He may not have meant to show them that, but it happened and they know. They know that's it's like his life was ripped to tatters; a hole punched into his chest that can't be filled back up again, knows just how much Miso matters to him. The suggestions brought up, aimed and shot to shoot through his chest, are ones that Naruto can't bear to deal with. His mind attempts to envision that sort of emptiness, a gap where Miso should be, purring and meowing and waking him up at 6 in the morning, but he just _can't_. His mind glitches and stutters on the idea, reminding him of a dark dark room and a cold wooden floor, of a gaping, yawning emptiness.

Naruto purses his lips, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. He uses his free hand to flick away the tears forming in his eyes, and looks away from Sakura and Sasuke, scooting further away from them. He can't bring himself to deal with them right now.

Sakura and Sasuke, on the other hand, find themselves staring at Naruto, twinges of guilt and a boatload of regret leaving a sour taste in their mouths. They swallow it down, resolute and sure of their words and their necessity.

The tension between them is thick and icy, and Naruto finds it's killed his mood entirely.

He hopes nothing happens to them. At this point, Naruto would rather avoid fighting altogether, especially if it'd keep Miso safe.

Luckily for Naruto, who'd begun to stew in his thoughts just a little too much, their journey across the sound was over, and Wave country itself was in plain view, seeming to recede out of the mist.

The boatsman carefully navigates the boat to the docks, making sure not to jostle everyone on board too much. He lays down his oar and tied a rope around one of the poles sticking out of the water, tethering the boat to the shore and making sure it couldn't drift away while they were getting off.

"This- this is as far as I'm willing to take you. It's just too dangerous for me to take you any further. F-from this point on, you all are on your own. Be… besides! You four are n-ninja, correct?" The boatsman says, hunching impossibly further into himself.

 _'Coward.'_ Naruto thinks, slightly disgusted with the man. He hikes Miso up further into his arms, and carefully steps onto the docks, peering suspiciously at the ocean below as it laps at the rowboat and threatens to swallow both him and Miso if he were to fall. The wood creaks under his weight, making Naruto flinch and skitter up the docks, and onto sturdier ground.

Kakashi rolls his eyes at his antics but makes sure to ruffle his hair, anyway.

Naruto pouts, fixing his mused hair. Then, turns around to look at the rest of team seven, filing off the boat one by one. Sakura daintily hops onto the docks, Sasuke struts over with his hands in his pockets, and Tazuna hobbles over, using his walking stick to assist him.

"Sorry." The boatsman bows, the guilt reflecting in his words as plain as day.

"Eh, it'll be fine. Thanks for your help." Tazuna says, flippantly gesturing for the boatsman to get a move on.

The boatsman does, untying his boat and rowing away as fast as he possibly can, likely returning home or maybe to a bar to drink that day's anxieties away.

Then, Tazuna spins around, an eyebrow raised. "We still have a little ways to go, get a move on already! The more we sit on our asses and dawdle, the less time I have to build the damned bridge! We don't have all day ya know!" He grunts, stepping ahead of them, clearly expecting team seven to follow.

Sakura sighs, muttering something to herself that Naruto can't hear properly, spoken too quickly and low to be understood by anyone but Sakura herself.

Sasuke scowls, expression stormy, but follows after the old man without complaint.

"Diamond formation!" Kakashi cheerfully reminds, stepping past Tazuna to lead the way. The rest of team seven grumbles, but surround Tazuna exactly the way they had done before, Sasuke and Sakura on either side and Naruto in the back.

There's a thought gnawing at the back of his mind, instilling a latent doubt of his decisions to bring Miso along, now. Naruto tries to shake it away, mentally rambling affirmations to himself, but it remains, ugly and malicious.

Naruto tries (and fails) to ignore it.

* * *

As they walk further into Wave country, Naruto finds a sort of paranoia ratcheting up in him. His hands shake slightly, even though there was no danger that he could sense.

His tension comes to a crescendo when one of the bushes rustles, and in a flash, Naruto pulls out a kunai and chucks it into the bushes. His breath becomes short, pupils dilated in pent up anxiety. Unfortunately, his lashing out puts the other son alert, all of them tensing and whipping out their weapons, searching frantically for a nearby enemy.

The bushes rustle again, but instead of an enemy, a rabbit jumps from the bushes, frightened and thumping. Kakashi pulls the bushes aside to reveal the kunai - tangled up in the bushes woody branches and no enemy in sight. There is only the rabbit.

A single eyebrow raised, Kakashi turns towards Naruto.

" _Idiot,_ " Sakura hisses, slapping her hand over her eyes. Sasuke rolls his eyes so hard that Naruto hopes they get stuck, leaving Sasuke blind and Naruto free of the embarrassment. His cheeks burn and he rubs the back of his neck apologetically.

"Oops… My hand slipped." Naruto winces, attempting to let their judging gazes roll off of him like water on wax.

It doesn't work, even as Naruto laughs awkwardly. In an effort to distract himself, he skampers up to the very scared rabbit, leaning down to pet it. It, of course, bounces away from his hand before he can make contact, and Naruto chases after it. "W-wait!" he cries. "I'm sorry to scare ya!"

The little animal circles around, dashing for the bushes abruptly. Luckily, Naruto manages to turn just as the rabbit does, reaching down and snatching the creature up before it can escape again. It kicks out and attempts to escape, and Naruto grunts as he tries to maintain his grip. Eventually, with a lot of petting and cooing, he manages to calm the rabbit down. Miso sits at his feet, head tilted as she gazes up at the rabbit in his arms with avid interest.

"No. Not for you." Naruto chides, wagging a finger at her. She simply meows up at him, rubbing against his leg in hopes of getting what she wants.

Unfortunately for Miso, Naruto will not allow his cat to mess with the rabbit he just calmed down, and he gently nudges her away with his foot, careful not to be too rough or injure her in any way. Miso, like a particularly willful noodle, just contorts herself around his foot, and returns to her previous position: begging at his feet.

Naruto stares at her, face blank and eyebrows raised. Then, knowing there was nothing for it, he rolls his shoulders and goes back to stroking the rabbits back and ears, smiling slightly as he notices it finally getting used to him.

Someone coughs. In an instant, Naruto is reminded that they are on a highly dangerous, possibly deadly protection mission, and snaps to attention. This, of course, startles the rabbit in his arm, who jolts violently. At his feet, Miso's tail lashes, and she chitters up at it.

Tazuna and the rest of team seven are very pointedly staring at him, shaking their heads and looking very annoyed.

Naruto, in a very belated attempt to explain himself, opens his mouth to apologize, but only manages to stutter out an "Um-" because Kakashi interjects, sighing.

"Save it, Naruto. Just get a move on."

Naruto deflates, even as he flushes to the roots of his hair. "...Okay," he says, shuffling after the group after they've turned to resume their walk.

Miso, of course, trots after him, meowing at the rabbit which Naruto still crables in his arms. He'd set the poor thing down and let it run off, but he's sure that Miso would make chase, and he'd rather not have to stop his cat from murdering the rabbit. ' _Ah, well… Guess you're coming along for the trip, too!'_ Naruto thinks, patting his cheek with one hand. He feels a little bit of his previous enthusiasm return. ' _Hm… if you're gonna travel with us, then I guess I should give ya a name! Maybe… uh. Snow? Your fur is white after all...'_

Naruto is broken from his musing when Kakashi suddenly shouts, tone serious and sudden, "Duck!" He does so, narrowly managing to dodge being beheaded by the arc of a very big, and very sharp sword.

Naruto gasps in surprise and lets go of the rabbit. The rabbit, of course, takes this moment to flee, bolting away. Miso yowls, startled by the large object that had spun towards them, currently stuck half-way into a nearby tree.

Naruto flinches, badly, jerking to his feet as their unknown attacker hops onto the sword still embedded into the tree. His fingers twitch with the urge to slip a kunai into his hands as some meager form of protection, but he finds himself frozen in place, choking on visceral, biting fear.

Kakashi cuts through his thoughts, his voice like fresh air after suffocating. "Momochi Zabuza, A-rank missing nin from Kiri."

The now identified ninja laughs, the sound twisting as it rings out. "Oh? So the great Hatake Kakashi knows of me…"

Kakashi ignores him, instead turning his head to address the rest of team seven. "Stay back! He's dangerous, guard Tazuna, I'll handle him!" he yells, pulling up his hitai-ate. Naruto can admit to himself that he'd always been curious as to wait was hidden under Kakashi's, as well as what his other eye looked like. He'd seen the hint of a long scar peeking out from under it, but he never knew what the entirety of it had looked like. So, it's with zero shame that Naruto snatches a good look at the now exposed part of Kakashi's face.

He feels vindicated when he spots Sasuke and Sakura leaning in, too. They'd had more than one discussion about what he could _possibly_ be hiding.

Even as they circle Tazuna, backs turned to him so they can defend him from the ninja aiming to hurt him, Sasuke's face twists.

It's the most expression Naruto's seen on Sasuke's face, so much so that he finds himself nearly fascinated by the amount of anger and betrayal swirling up into his rival's face.

"Is that-? The Sharingan? How did _you_ get that?!" Sasuke chokes, words snarled and enraged. The boy looks as if he's about to leap at Kakashi and shake the answers out of him, but is just able to retain himself.

Their sensei ignores him in favor of the missing nin in front of him. "I won't let you kill him," Kakashi says simply.

"I'm honored that you'd think so highly of me, Copy-Nin Kakashi. However, I will be taking that old man's head, along with yours. Killing you would truly display the sum of my skills…" Zabuza muses, and even though Naruto can't see his expression, he has a very strong feeling the man is smiling - or, at least, smirking.

"Oh, how can you be so sure about that?" Kakashi retorts, flipping the kunai in his grip.

Instead of a reply, a white, shimmering mist begins to form around them, obscuring Zabuza's figure, as well as his sword.

Naruto squints, trying to see anything past a few feet of himself, but finds himself unable. The mist is thick and cloudy, and Naruto can barely see his own sandals, let alone an enemy clearly familiar with the technique. He cursed the enemy, even as he broke into a horrified sweat, swallowing heavily.

There's a _whooshing_ noise from behind him, and Naruto feels more than sees the enemy manifest in their space. He's spinning, turning to meet the ninja head on, unable to stomach the thought of keeping his back to a man as dangerous as this, but he only gets halfway turned before Kakashi is there, having zipped from his previous position and jabbed his kunai forward.

Straight into the stomach of Zabuza.

Naruto nearly feels relieved for a moment, but instead of a gush of blood, Zabuza's body spouts water, and just like a balloon, Zabuza _pops_ , spraying them all.

Everyone sputters, but Kakashi is already whirling around again. "Damn! So it was a water clone." Kakashi hisses, eyes narrowed as he scans their immediate area for any sign of Zabuza. The uncovered eye - the Sharingan? - whirls, the weird tomoe circling Kakashi's pupil.

Zabuza's sword makes another appearance, this time slicing _through_ Kakashi. Naruto shrieks a little, but his shriek cuts itself off when Kakashi also begins to spout water, before he, too, pops.

"He copied it?" Zabuza mutters, surprised. The missing-nin yanks his sword out of the ground, throwing it over his shoulder.

"Yes, and… It's over." Kakashi grits, appearing behind Zabuza.

Naruto can only watch as the fight unfolds, the two fighting at a pace Naruto can't even hope to match. Every other second the two pull out another jutsu, narrowly avoid death by pulling the most subtle of tricks.

Naruto is scared, terrified out of his wits, but he finds himself a bit in awe of the ninja in front of him.

Then, Kakashi is trapped. Zabuza has him imprisoned in some sort of water cage, and as Kakashi struggles and strains against his hold, he screams at them to _run._

 _He can't._

Kakashi was… a sore topic in Naruto's mind. The incident with Miso was still fresh on his mind, even though it's been weeks since then. The man had never apologized and barely humored Naruto, even as he tried over and over again to prove both his and Miso's worth. It was a frustrating, humiliating time, dealing with their sensei (He'd been hoping, for so long, that his Jounin Sensei would see his worth, see his struggles and how he _tries_ , and _acknowledge them_. Kakashi hadn't. And so, nothing from his Academy days had changed, even if his missions did, and he had a license and headband to prove his rank as genin.) and Naruto had nearly been pushed to tears on a number of occasions.

But… Kakashi had grown on him, somehow. The jounin's melodramatic tendencies and flippant attitude had somehow managed to worm their way into his heart, just enough that Naruto felt pained at the thought of the man becoming injured, or worse, _dead_.

So, no, Naruto decides he won't run. Not from Zabuza, not form anyone, even if it gets him killed. In a flash, Naruto's hands become a hurried blur, making signs as quick as he could.

" _Shadow clone Jutsu_!" Naruto cries, pushing as much chakra into the technique as he could.

"Naruto, no!" Kakashi barks, a sliver of sheer, unadulterated _fear_ in his voice.

Naruto throws a wobbly grin at his teacher, "I'm not running, sensei! I'll- I'll get you out!"

He would, Naruto swore it.

* * *

The arrival of the hunter-nin had been a complete and utter surprise, but not a bad one. Naruto nearly cried in relief as Zabuza went down, several senbon embedded into his neck.

The ninja had apologized to them for stealing "their kill" but as they spoke, hauled Zabuza's (presumably dead) body over their shoulders, before politely excusing themself.

There was a moment of dead silence after the hunter-nin disappeared from view, the silence only interrupted by their heavy, exhausted breathing.

"Well. I guess that's over!" Kakashi says cheerfully, back to his usual self as soon as the battle had come to close.

Sasuke steps forward, questions on his lips, but just as he opens his mouth to yell, to demand, to utter even a word of _how_? Kakashi collapses.

Naruto cries out, lunging for the man, while Sakura gasps. She has sustained the least amount of injuries among the four of them, choosing to stick close to Tazuna, even as both Naruto and Sasuke went on the offensive.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto shouts, shaking the jounin's shoulders, even as the man's head lolls, having gone completely limp.

"Stop shaking him, you idiot!" Sakura growls, pushing Naruto away from their sensei so she could take a closer look. Naruto holds his breath, mentally chanting to himself ' _don't be dead, please don't be dead-',_ as if saying it enough would make it true.

Sakura sighs in relief. "He's still breathing…" she utters, and he nearly whooped for joy.

Then, Tazuna spoke up. "We're… nearly at my home. We'll take 'em there so he can rest."

Naruto can only nod, satisfied for a single moment.

Then, he realizes something.

Something important is missing. Naruto leaps to his feet. He lurches forward, circling the area once, then twice, beginning to pace with increasing vigor. Naruto is… searching for something, though none of them knew what, and they watch in utmost confusion as Naruto grew manic. His head swivels from side to side, eyes roving over their surroundings frantically, almost panicked. He pokes his head behind the surrounding trees, moving bushes and brush aside and peered into it.

Then, as soon as he starts pacing, Naruto stops. He turns towards the group, eyes wide. His face is pale, the previous relief on his expression nowhere to be seen. Now, all that stands in its place is terror.

He looks more scared than the rest of team seven has ever seen him; even during Zabuza's attack, than even the bell test.

"Hey…" Naruto starts, voice desperate and raw.

"Where's Miso?"

* * *

Okay! Long long long chapter. Lots of action, lots of plot! jesus, this was a pain in the ass to write. Buuut, I had a specific plan in mind for how I wanted this chapter to end. (which, uh, you can see here.) So, I just... kept writing until I got to it. Length doesn't matter, even if the disparity will be kind of aggravating to some. To me, the plot points and when they're hit are more important! But, hey, lots of content for yall! I hope yall like it. I am posting this at about... uh. 2 am? because I am currently on vacation and haven't found the time to cross-post it here. I put it up a few days ago on my ao3.

I wanted to time it better, so I could gather new viewers (readership spikes from 4-8 in my timezone), but I won't have the time. SO for all you recurring readers, this one is for you!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this monster of a chapter. If you want to keep up with my writing, my tumblr is (as it always is) ekourege. Send me an ask if you'd like, or just leave a review screaming at me lol! I know this chapter had... a pretty hard cut. (and YES i did that intentionally.) Something to note, though: I usually make an ao3 and a copy of my works, but because my ao3 script to automatically insert the html tags is BROKEN i've had to manually go through and add it to my main copy. I've sifted through and tried to take out the tags here, but please let me know in the reviews if you spot one i missed or just found a random typo. I spent... two solid all nighters writing this thing, i'm bound to have missed something.


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